Thursday morning, I went to the hospital with a friend who was having a procedure done. I was the designated driver.
When the procedure was complete, we were waiting for her discharge, and a physician walked by. He had on his scrubs and a hospital jacket and a cap and a mask. My friend said, “Oh, there goes Dr. —–.”
“Oh,” I said. “I’d have never recognized him.”
His family had been members of our church, several years earlier. I’d known him and his wife, and his daughter had been a preschooler in my Sunday School class. I’d have recognized him in his street clothes, but not, apparently when only his eyes were showing.
I’ve never been good at recognizing folks. I have to meet someone more than once (and sometimes several times) before I’m sure about their identity.
It’s embarrassing. I’ll be introduced to someone, and then, a week or so (or a day or so) later, I’ll see them at a store or a library or church, and be uncertain about who they are, and where do I know them from, and what is their name?!?
If I do run into someone that I think I’m supposed to know, I might start a generic sort of conversation: “Hi. It’s good to see you.” That sort of thing, with the hope that there will be some clue about how and where I might have met this person and what is it that we have in common (church? knitting group? neighborhood?).
I have a new neighbor across the street. I wave to him and his little twin boys.
I also have a new neighbor next door. I wave to her and her four kids.
If I should see either one of these adults, without their kids, at a store, I’m not sure I’d be certain who they were. I need to spend a few more conversations with them to be absolutely certain who they are. I should spend more time in my front yard at the approximate times they arrive back home. I should set my watch.
Anyway, back to the doctor.
While I was waiting for my friend to get checked out and ready to leave the hospital, that doctor walked back by me. He looked at me and said, “Hello, Gayle.”
I was pretty surprised. After all, I had on a mask, too, so only my eyes were showing. And, it had been several years since I’d seen him. I certainly wouldn’t have known him, all masked and hatted as he was, if my friend hadn’t pointed him out, earlier.
And I said, “Hi,” back, and told him that my friend had pointed him out to me. We chatted for a moment and then my friend came back and we talked together for a few minutes. Then, of course, he had to leave to go and do some doctoring.
I said, “If all I’ve got to recognize people is their eyes, I really need folks to wear name tags. Otherwise, I’ll never know who they area.”
There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.
Matthew 20:30-24 (New Revised Standard Version)
‘Way back last February (remember last February, when we could go places and visit with people and not be anxious), I had signed up for a series of informational classes through a Baylor program for senior adults. I’d sat down in the last chair on a row and there were a couple of empty chairs beside me. A minute or so later, a couple of ladies came in on the other end of the row, and people who were already seated scooted down to make room for the friends. I moved my purse from an empty chair. The woman who sat down next to me looked at me. I smiled at her and she said, “Gayle Goodwin!” And I said, “yes,” (as that’s my maiden name). She said her name, which I recognized from high school.
“Hello!” “Hello!” we said to each other, and chatted for a moment.
“I’m surprised you recognized me,” I said to her.
“Oh,” she said. “I see it in your eyes.”
So, maybe I should be sure my eyes are opened, as I’m smiling at the only part of people’s faces I can see. It’s important for people to really be seen.