A buddy of mine would frequently tell me stories of crazy shit that he and a buddy of his got up to in high school. I never quite realized that these were all the same people, until one day, I meet him at a work function of sorts. Turns out he works for the same organization I do. To say it was unlikely not only that we'd work under the same umbrella but also meet was highly unlikely, to put it mildly. Also, I've got some higher-up boss type who I have to e-mail about various work-related things. It's actually ridiculous, because this person got her doctorate from the same faculty as me last year, so she's still fresh in various professors' and lecturers' minds. I constantly get asked upon people discovering who I work for, "Do you know [so and so]?" Well, I've emailed her and talked to her on the phone a bunch, but otherwise, I've never met her, and I probably won't ever meet her.
Radio DJs. Good Lord people how was this missed? I believe it's been said before but seriously, actually seeing them in person can be such a disappointment. Never ever go to a radio station's website... it will ruin your perceptions of who's talking.
My best friend from middle school (who I'm still friends with) has a father. Now normally this would not be cause for surprise, except out of the hundreds of times I have been to his house, I have seen his father... once. His parents aren't divorced or anything; apparently his dad just works a lot. I knew all kinds of stuff about him - he had diabetes, he was the manager of a cell phone shop, he played golf (very poorly), etc. This was all until he got laid off. Now instead of going to work he would smoke pot all day with his work buddies. End result: I still never see the guy. So whenever I go to college each year I kind of fall out of the loop with my hometown friends - they are sort of lower-middle-class, so they all go to community college. I come back this past summer to find them talking more than usual about my friend's dad. Come to find out the guy had a heart attack and died, out of the blue. Three months before. Strange world.
FOCUS: Who are the unseen characters in your life? Did they ever make the transition to being seen? Did they live up to your expectations...or lack thereof? Off the top of my head is a group of referring doctors and surgeons. They're literally within walking distance of our place, but for people who have a constant presence in the clinic, I've only met them once. I get the real scoop from patients. Who's nice, who's an asshole, who's really awesome and kicks ass, etc. Also, I hear higher-ups mention them talking about projects. Even more, when I was working full-time I'd correspond with their offices on a regular basis, knew their signatures at a glance (lines v. squiggles v. a single capital letter), and occasionally spoke with them on the phone when they called my boss. I worked there for about a year before meeting them. They were nothing I had imagined. I thought one was Hispanic; she wasn't. They were quieter and more awkward than I thought they'd be. Color me disappointed.
For years there was a girl name Kelly who I had never met but was friends with everybody I knew. She went to the same high school, but I never remembered her. She went to the same parties that I went to, but still had no idea who she was. She allegedly dated a friend of mine for about a month, but I was never introduced to her. Since our last names are similar, I would constantly see things she reserved next to mine at the library. I would see conversations between her and my friends on Facebook, but her profile was set to private and she always had some sort of landscape or singer she liked as her profile picture. This went on for almost four years. The day I finally met her she was frightened both by how abnormally happy I was to see her but how much I knew about her. I think the fact that I knew what books she had been checking out from the library pretty much killed any potential chance at us being friends.
In college I experienced many unseen characters and eventually became one myself. I went to a small school where it was easy to build a reputation that preceded you. There were a lot of names that could be heard frequently, usually with any number of entertaining stories attached. The most memorable of them for me, was a guy who had countless "Talked his way (or our way) out of trouble with the law" stories. I still remember stories about him today but I never met the guy. My senior year I always got looks and reactions from freshmen and sophomores when I met them. I got a lot of "Oh, YOU'RE J Russell," or when I introduced myself I'd be met with, "Yeah, I know." One time, I met a girl who told me that she'd heard of me. When I asked what she'd heard, she thought about it for a moment before saying, diplomatically, "That you have your own style." After graduating, my younger friends relayed how there were many stories about me from my campus days still being told. And, as one of the things I was known for was my unique laugh, they would hear people mimicking my laugh around campus, usually trying to demonstrate it to freshmen who never had the privilege of hearing it themselves. Good times.
One of my husband's friends is gay, even if he chooses not to admit it. This group of guys have been friends since they were toddlers so hey are a bit blinded by that and choose not to admit it either. However, every girlfriend/wife/etc. sees it quite clearly and is pretty vocal about it. The guys refuse to believe it. Now I am not saying that I have expert gaydar, but here is a tidbit that I thought would change anybody's mind....this guy is nice looking and has never had a shortage of girlfriends, some even long term. So he broke up with one girlfriend who was built like every (straight) guys fantasy and I asked him what happened, his response...."well, the site of her naked just disgusted me. She had these huge boobs and they were just .... just gross". Still, the guys refuse to believe it. Anyway, so the gay guy has a girlfriend. Probably for the past couple of years. Nobody has met her. "She" conveniently works for a newspaper (a sports writer no less) so has to have stories completed for the morning printing so "she" works nights. So not a single person has been able to meet "her". So, I am waiting for the day..... To be honest, if (when) he does decide to come out, I really don't think the guys would have a problem with it. They would still play golf, talk about sports, have some beers, etc. just like before. So it is a real shame.
Ugly Naked Guy from Friends. Remember when that show was a comedy and not a drama? I'm also a fan of Mr. Wick from Drew Carey, even though Craigy Ferg was awesome.