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THE ELEPHANT CURSE! Part 2: When They Don't Remember

So yesterday I talked about remembering people and giving up saying hello to peeps for fear they don't remember who I am. Sometimes I feel like I'm Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, you know, after he asks the blonde girl where she went to high school and which desk she sat in and who her English teacher was, etc. And then he talks to her the next day and totally blows her mind because he knows all these things about her High School experience, but she doesn't remember who he is (obviously).

Except I'm not Bill Murray, and my life doesn't go on repeat every day. I just remember, and people just forget!

These are two reasons why I give up saying hello to certain folks...

A young man named Sam* was a prominent and popular gent at my high school. He was in several classes with me. Apparently his older sister was a calligraphy genius because some of her work was posted on my AP Lit teacher's wall, and my classmate Katie* said Sam's sister was "a legend."

Well, years went by, and in 2015, Sam came walking into the office on campus where I worked as a secretary. "Sam! It's so good to see you!" I said.

He glanced at the floor, the ceiling, and back at me, and in a befuddled tone said, "I'm sorry, I don't remember who you are..."

I explained who I was, caught up on life for several minutes (turns out he served in Argentina too!) and had a few laughs.

TWO DAYS LATER. I walk into the Provo Temple and there he is at the recommend desk. "Sam!" I said. "It's so good to see you again, in the same week!"

He glanced at the floor, the ceiling, and back at me, and in a befuddled tone said, "I'm sorry, I don't remember who you are..."

<<insert crying emoji face here>>

Another young man, Mikey*. Mikey was in my AP Language class in High School. He was a year older than I was, and he sat on the opposite side of the classroom from me, right under the window. He sat by Landon*, Landon who had his "wish" granted (at the wish-granting assembly the Student council ran) for being fed grapes by an entourage of women while seated on a giant cushion. Mikey worked as a life guard in the summers at the community pool, but he didn't like wearing sandals because he loathed weird tan lines. He grew up in Georgia, where he had this sassy-beautiful-crazy-lady bus driver that got out and preached some serious repentance to a driver that nearly broadsided her bus one afternoon. She was just protecting the school district babies she carried to and from school.

Well, I remembered all those things. And in 2012 he ended up sitting five rows in front of me in my Stats class (a class of 500+ people might I add). I moseyed on up to him that first day of Stats and said, "How ya been?" and I made the mistake of spewing all the things I remembered about him...

...and he didn't have a clue who I was...

...and then he must have thought "This girl is SOOOOOO into me!" because he persistently asked me on dates for the next couple weeks, which I politely declined since I was soon to leave on my mission and wasn't particularly interested.

Cool fact--a still shot of him proselyting can be found on Google Earth street view from when he was a missionary in South America. He showed me after class once.

Wow, now that I write these things out they sound super creepy.
WHY DO I REMEMBER THESE THINGS?
It's a blessing, it's crazy, it's the elephant curse.



*Name has been changed.

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