“If you want to win friends, make it a point to remember their names. If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.” ~ Dale Carnegie
No matter how hard I’m concentrating on something else, say my name and my attention is all yours. It is my name, intimately connected with my sense of self.
I’m not “the alto at the end of the row.” That may accurately describe my location and the function I’m performing, but it isn’t me. I’m not “the torn rotator cuff” or “the broken ankle in Room 3.” I’m a person, a person with a name.
You are not “the meter reader,” or “the pastor,” or “the guy walking the irish wolfhound.” Those are abstractions, fables.
You are a person, unique and complete, and I will try to remember your name.
