Everyman

I am often mistaken for other people. There must be a bunch of us forty-ish, portly (oh yeah, we covered that already), balding (that too!) and bearded fellows around because I am regularly mistaken for being someone else, even at close range and occasionally even by family members.

Some recent examples...

Today, a young man rolled up next to me at an intersection and started waving madly, trying to get my attention. I put down the window and he said hello. I asked if I could help him and he seemed confused for a moment and then I asked if I taught at Moorpark. Well, no. Turned out he'd mistaken me for his Logic Professor.

A couple weeks ago in Florida, my aunt was aware that I was going to be at their condo, but as she passed the hotel where we were staying she spotted someone who she mistook to be me on the beach and assumed that I hadn't gone over yet. She was quite startled to find me sitting in the living room reading a book on her return home.

It's not a big deal, but can be a pretty strange experience when someone walks up and starts a conversation that assumes we know each other in considerable detail.