There but for the grace of God...

No wait, I do go there!

I am the world's WORST at names. I blame my general nerdyness for this!

Like Will Rogers I never forget a face and when I see your face I have a VERY good memory about our shared past (be it personal or professional) but most times I will NOT remember your blinking name!

THEN I have this deal that if I learn your name wrong I probably will never get it right in the future. Once I have managed to burn it into the neurons it's there forever, right or wrong!

As a consequence, I refer to the world as bud, buddy, amigo, compadre, partner etc.

"Hey Bud! Long time no time! Whacha been up to amigo?"

Sigh. Yes, I know it's terrible.

One of my few redeeming qualities though is I am not a hypocrite. Unlike some people I can name, I wont live in an 8,000-square-foot house and fly in a biz jet that burns 113 gallons of fuel an hour and then lecture you on your carbon footprint.

So, I met a woman few weeks ago. Somehow, just like I do, she learned my name wrong. She calls me Rich instead of Rob.  I corrected her a couple of times at first but then since I understand the syndrome I just let it go and I am getting pretty good at answering to Rich/Richard.

What makes this story funny though is that in her case it seems her name mangling is an hereditary trait! I went to a family picnic thing with her last Sunday and as she introduced me to each of her family members as Rich I would immediately say "Actually it's Rob, nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too Rich!"

Now her whole family calls me Richard!

Since I am NOT a hypocrite though I just laugh uproariously on the inside and grin on the outside and answer to Rich