I tend to believe this, but the past year has been rather difficult for mind or lips readers. With masks concealing most everybody’s faces, it was hard, if not impossible, to pick their brains
But things are starting to look up. With the pandemic showing signs of subsiding, masks are slowly starting to fall off, and you are suddenly allowed to gaze at faces again.
Friends’ faces were familiar, and when the masks came off, you did not expect to see any changes; but sometimes you are in for a surprise. After a stressful year, the person behind the mask has visibly grown older and you are sometimes taken aback by the change. It would be rude to mention it, but it leaves a somewhat sobering impression. People are not supposed to age that fast. The process is meant to be progressive and unnoticeable to the naked eye. And when it happens, (unless you are Jane Fonda), you should not notice it.
Getting older is like politics and religion; you don’t mention it in a polite social gathering.
When the masks come off, you are also surprised to discover the faces of the people that you met during the pandemic. You got accustomed to their eyes but never their mouths, an organ that says a lot about a person. And when they unveil their faces, it finds you non-plussed. You are aware that you know that person, but you are sometimes startled by what you see.
This welcome turn of events is also appreciated by the “hard of hearing” crowd.
You might not be aware of it but “Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing.”
Sometimes when you don’t hear well, you try to compensate for this condition by reading lips, but when everybody’s face is concealed, it becomes a little more problematic. In cases like this, you seldom disagree with what you hear, because you have just a faint idea of what is being said.
This is probably what happens in popular political rallies. Somebody is whipping up the crowd inciting them to violence. But not everybody fully understood the speech. So… if the majority around you applauds and shouts, you feel that have to do the same thing.
And that’s how riots start…
In the meantime, bathe in the euphory of rediscovering forgotten friends’ faces… and as Groucho once said:
“I never forget a face, but in your case, I’ll be glad to make an exception.”
Alain