I was at a party recently when I was re-introduced to a man that I’ve met on several occasions. I remembered him immediately, and he peered at me with slight recognition and then exclaimed “I remember you – you’re the woman with loose sexual morals!”
Surprised? Damn right I was.
He caught up with me a bit later in the evening and proffered an explanation: “It’s because you’re an artist and live in Kilburn,” – when I opened my mouth to comment he added “It’s ok, I used to live in West Hampstead, I know what it’s like.”
I thought it was funny at the time, and I still see the humour, however it has made me think. The old adage “first impressions count” springs to mind – although I must say that I never thought it could apply so drastically. I suspect that when I first met the man I was still studying for my A-levels, art being one of them, and the friend who introduced may have said ‘Queens Park, near Kilburn’.
It’s amazing how a little misinterpretation of the facts can land you in trouble.
I’d love to throw that old adage out of the window – after all, you can regard people with distrust, suspicion, and even loathing, after just one meeting, but then find that you actually have a lot in common several encounters down the road. But what of the people you only ever meet once? How many people, for instance, are wandering around out there having been given the impression that I’m a woman of loose morals who lives in a rather dubious area of London? I dread to think, even though I might never meet any of them again. So what’s a girl to do, behave impeccably at every moment lest she be misinterpreted?
Of course not, we have to take our chances and believe that those who are meant to see the truth do; we have to believe that anyone who can’t see beyond their preconceptions aren’t worth our attention. Well, it’s that or hand out a CV and character reference to everyone we meet…
10/09/2004 ©
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