I always thought my life would be less frustrating if everyone wore a nametag. Then I wouldn\u2019t have to fake it, pretend I knew who the person was. Like a lot of old coots, I call people by fake monikers like: Governor, Missy, Buddy, while scrambling through my rusty memory files in a desperate attempt to dig their name out of the cobwebs. It never comes to me until five minutes after they leave. Sometimes not for a day or more.<\/p>\n
People won\u2019t wear name tags, except at a business conference or similar event where attendees don\u2019t know each other. The only name tags they will wear are those of clothing designers, corporate logos or sports teams: Ralph Lauren, Chaps, Tom Brady, Nike, Buffalo Bills and the like. But sport their name, no way! <\/p>\n
That \u201cno way\u201d attitude is even more in play with my second ID suggestion, an \u201cAge Tag\u201d. Either with a person\u2019s age or with the year they were born, making us do the math if we want to know how old they are.<\/p>\n
Most of us are curious about other people\u2019s age. I\u2019m constantly going online to look up someone famous enough to be listed on Google or Wikipedia. It\u2019s so much easier than in the old days, digging into World Almanacs, encyclopedias, or calling the library. <\/p>\n
All the people I\u2019m around have the same curiosity that I do. And, many of them are not old coots; they\u2019re people of all ages. Someone will walk into wherever we are \u201changing out\u201d and invariably one of us will ask, \u201cHow old do you think that guy is?\u201d We try to figure it out. \u201cI think he\u2019s in his fifties. He looks younger, but I guess he\u2019s made it out of his forties. I\u2019ll ask my sister; she knows him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sort of conversation. And it might stop some embarrassing Old Coot utterances \u2013 \u201cIs that your daughter or your wife?\u201d \u2013 \u201cAre you sisters or mother and daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019re a curious species. We want to know things. Especially everyone\u2019s age. We\u2019d also like to know how much they earn or what they\u2019re worth. I guess that\u2019s too much to ask for. I\u2019ll settle for an age tag. It would be a boon to society. Don\u2019t you agree? <\/p>\n