Mistaken Identity by Lewis T

     For me, the term “mistaken identity” conjures up not so much images of gross embarrassment, endangerment, or fear as it does feelings of inadequacy and shame. I cannot disassociate the term from a long and deep-seated personal inadequacy of mine—my seeming inability to remember faces and names.

     I would go so far as to say that this tendency has morphed into an almost pathological neurosis for me. My persona is that of an introvert with extroverted tendencies and a desperately poor self-image. As a consequence, when meeting someone new, I tend to establish eye contact well enough but my mind is absorbed with thoughts of how well I am being perceived. Consequently, when their name is spoken, it goes in one ear and out the other—almost literally. I have heard about the many tricks that can be used to retain a person’s name but none of them have stuck with me. Perhaps there is a College of Life-Long Learning course that I could take, if only I don’t have to remember its name.

About the Author

I came to the beautiful state of Colorado out of my native Kansas by way of Michigan, the state where I married and had two children while working as an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. I was married to a wonderful woman for 26 happy years and suddenly realized that life was passing me by. I figured that I should make a change, as our offspring were basically on their own and I wasn't getting any younger. Luckily, a very attractive and personable man just happened to be crossing my path at that time, so the change-over was both fortuitous and smooth. Soon after, I retired and we moved to Denver, my husband's home town. He passed away after 13 blissful years together in October of 2012. I am left to find a new path to fulfillment. One possibility is through writing. Thank goodness, the SAGE Creative Writing Group was there to light the way.