“I know that person. I can’t quite place him, but I know him from somewhere.”

Has that ever happened to you? You’re out and about, and you run into someone who looks very familiar, or that you know you’ve met – or at least seen before – but you just can’t remember when or where.

It happened to me last weekend, with a gentleman who was ushering and assisting at Mass. I was sure I knew him from somewhere else, but couldn’t figure out where – which is strange, because we’ve lived here in Georgia only five months. There aren’t too many places I could know him from.

He wasn’t in my Toastmasters club, or the neighborhood book club I joined. And he certainly wasn’t at the Ladies Brunch I attended at my church in the spring.

The mystery was solved a few days later at the health club where my husband and I work out. We always go first thing in the morning, and this man is one of the people who is often there at the same time we are. We had never officially met, but always smiled and said hello to each other. And I was a little embarrassed that it had taken me so long to recognize the nicely-dressed gentleman we saw at Mass on Sunday as the same man we always saw in workout clothes at the gym on weekday mornings.

It’s often that way, though, when we see people out of context – in a different environment and with a different look than we’re used to. Especially when it’s someone we don’t really know, or know well, in the first place – which, right now, describes most of the people I’ve met in Georgia so far.

So I’m going to take this as a personal challenge to myself to make sure I always give my full and undivided attention to the people I meet, even if it’s someone I will know only casually or see only occasionally. I’m sure this will improve all my interactions and relationships with others, and especially with new friends I meet.

And, now that I think about it, with old friends, too.