What Face Are You Wearing?

Arnold Parish on right at a Bell Reunion.  Click to enlarge

We carried my mother-in-law to John Boys, Home Cooking Buffet the other day.   John Boys is a magnet for natives of Marietta.  Usually I see someone I know.

I saw a man come in that I thought I recognized.  He looked just like an old high school friend of mine.  Actually if it was who I thought it was, he was a few years ahead of me in school, more my sister's age.  He was with another man.

I studied him as he went through the line picking out his food.  He looked  almost just like a the certain person I remember.  But there was something about his facial expression that was different.

He glanced at me a couple of times staring at him.  Finally he said, "Hi Eddie!"   It was him!  Then he was smiling and he looked just as I remember him.

I  said something like, "I thought that was you!"   It occurred to me that I forgot his name.   It started with A.  It was A something.

To reflect that I did remember him I asked him was he still a volunteer at the hospital.  He said  he gave it up for a while.

I was still wondering what his name is... it starts with an A.   His family lived just  a few buildings from us in the Clay Homes back in the 1940s.  During the Varner and Bell Reunions I got to know him better.   

My curiosity got  the best of me.  I walked over and said something like, "I'm having a senior moment, I forgot your name, I know it starts with an A....". 

He shook my hand and said, "Arnold, Arnold Parrish."

Am I good or what?

Then he introduced me to his neighbor that he was having lunch with.

I think the reason he looked differently in the face is that he wears many hats , or faces, like we all do.  We have a parent face, a face for friends, an OM friend face,  and a face for business, and a face for neighbors.   He walked in wearing his neighbor face, but when he saw me he changed into his OM friend face.