Bit Players
It happened again yesterday. Unfortunately it happens a lot. It happens to everybody and even though this is a very small town, I’ve gotten used to it. What I’m talking about is you see someone you haven’t seen in 20-30 years and you have no clue who they are. I must be a unique individual because it seems everybody knows who I am, but damn if I can recognize a one of them. People I went to high school with and people I grew up with will come up to me and start talking, and my mind will go into overdrive. Who are they!? Listen to every word so that I might pick up something, anything to tell me who they are.
Have I gotten past trying to fake it - not really? I keep thinking it would be very rude to tell someone, “Look I have no clue who you are, who are you?” I guess it would save a lot of time and trouble, but I know if I went up to someone all happy to see them and they had no clue, it would not be a nice feeling.
What got me to thinking about this is, sometimes I look at life and people as a movie or a show. I guess it says something for our culture. I’ve thought many times with people I know, am I a main player in their lives or just a bit player that will fall to the wayside. We all have family, friends and acquaintances, but I’ve found sometimes even people you’re very close to, you end up being a bit player in their life’s movie.
Everyone wants to be the star and to many people the world revolves around them. However, I realized long ago that we’re all bit player and what most of us want is just to be recognized from time to time. I guess that’s what makes me feel so bad when I don’t recognize people from 30 years ago. Sure we all change, grow older and don’t look anything like we used to, but that’s just the outer shell. What made us what we are, is still inside and that inside is what should be recognized.
I blame my not remembering on a lot of things. I’ve gotten older, the memory just isn’t the same or they’ve changed so much, but it doesn’t stop the feeling that I should know. I guess what I’m trying to say is, even though many people are bit players in our lives; we should treat each other as stars.
Have I gotten past trying to fake it - not really? I keep thinking it would be very rude to tell someone, “Look I have no clue who you are, who are you?” I guess it would save a lot of time and trouble, but I know if I went up to someone all happy to see them and they had no clue, it would not be a nice feeling.
What got me to thinking about this is, sometimes I look at life and people as a movie or a show. I guess it says something for our culture. I’ve thought many times with people I know, am I a main player in their lives or just a bit player that will fall to the wayside. We all have family, friends and acquaintances, but I’ve found sometimes even people you’re very close to, you end up being a bit player in their life’s movie.
Everyone wants to be the star and to many people the world revolves around them. However, I realized long ago that we’re all bit player and what most of us want is just to be recognized from time to time. I guess that’s what makes me feel so bad when I don’t recognize people from 30 years ago. Sure we all change, grow older and don’t look anything like we used to, but that’s just the outer shell. What made us what we are, is still inside and that inside is what should be recognized.
I blame my not remembering on a lot of things. I’ve gotten older, the memory just isn’t the same or they’ve changed so much, but it doesn’t stop the feeling that I should know. I guess what I’m trying to say is, even though many people are bit players in our lives; we should treat each other as stars.
posted by Family Man | 7:12 AM
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