Saturday, May 19, 2007

Internet fame?

I was in the local Off License this evening. A nice lady approached me and said...

"Hello, John, isn't it?"

Who is this person I thought? I hate when I forget people I've met before. She looked a lot like a neighbour we knew from a previous address, but seemed a bit taller.

"Ah, Eleanor! I haven't seen you in ages", I offered.

"No, I'm Esther" she said.

This was getting weird. Senility is setting in. But at least I got the first and last letters right! I surely don't know an Esther...do I!?

"I'm Claire's mother".

Mmmh, maybe a mother of one of my daughters' friends?

I struggled to think of a Claire. This friendly lady could see I was having difficulty.

"Gingerpixel's Mum! I saw your photograph on the Internet from the photo shoot on Killiney beach".

Ah, the penny dropped! Esther did indeed look like my blogging/photography pal Claire/Gingerpixel. We then exchanged a few pleasantries.

I can safely say that this is the only time in my life that a stranger has identified and spoken to me based on a photo on the Internet. The World is changing!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't believe it. My mother has been embarrassing us for years by recognising somebody literally everywhere we go. Now she's started to do it with people on the internet!!

John of Dublin said...

Ha ha! Your Mum clearly is great at spotting people.

It was a hilarious thing to happen!

Brian Damage said...

I wonder if I went around draped in my Japanese flag would people recognise me?

grannymar said...

Nice one John.

I embarras Elly by talking to strangers everywhere.

@dario it is not what you do but how you do it ;)

John of Dublin said...

Dario - I'm sure that would work!

Grannymar - kids indeed hate being embarrassed by parents. My weakness was trying to act cool and act the clown in front of their friends. Actually since they've become adults they are slowly getting less embarrassed (or maybe I've fine tuned my style) and they seem to laugh with me - MAYBE I AM COOL!! I actually have my own Bebo site and their friends think this is a riot!

Brian Damage said...

Ah no way. You're kidding right?

I feel too old for Bebo and I'm only 18. For research purposes, what's the URL?

John of Dublin said...

Dario, I've had a Bebo site for a few years but I hardly ever go near it. It was just to cause a laugh with my daughters and their pals. You can view it I hope at...

http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=147936880&MID=217

Brian Damage said...

Hey, I didn't mean anything offensively. I've just wrote an article on ageism on my blog so why would I use it against you?

My father can't even use a computer - he's only ten years older than you - so you have a lot be proud of. A blogger and a Beboer.

I'm also just after looking up the page ... kudos to your taste in music. The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, REM ... all great artists
I'd criticise Destiny's Child only I like Evanescence so I'm not in a position to say much.

John of Dublin said...

Hi Dario, gosh I didn't even think you were remotely offensive, so don't worry! Bebo was just a quick laugh for me. Glad you also like some of the music artists!

Re. computers, I've an electrical engineering degree and I've been using computers since the first IBM PC came out in about 1981. But I try not to get too addicted!

Anonymous said...

Ha! That's too funny about Esther! And I've witnessed first hand what Claire's saying; just in the few years I've known Esther she really does spot someone she knows everywhere she goes :) I think her outgoing friendliness is one of the great things about her.

John of Dublin said...

Hi Angelina. Good to hear from you again. Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope all is well in USA, I must catch up on your blog.

Yes, Maybe Esther could make a good spy for MI5 - a female James Bond, LOL! And I agree - she warm and friendly, I almost felt I knew her right away, which at the time actually made me feel guilty that I didn't!