An interesting quirk in acquaintance behavior has been recurring in my life this past month.  Maybe it has always been there and I’ve just been smacked with the truth of it.  Or maybe our age of plugged-in-ness has crept into every orifice of our social faculties. 

The acquaintance condition is fascinating .  Every aspect of the acquaintance relationship is subject to interpretation and by its nature, is impermanent.  With the brevity of “Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” another name is filed in the mental cubicle of acquaintances.  You may never see that person again, or you may go to lunch with the person, then never see him or her again.  And others are people you see on a consistent basis – never getting to the point where you exchange phone numbers, but smile when you see them, say hello – until the next run-in.

I am not a fan of acquaintances.  And my recent observation confirms why I am not a fan of acquaintances.

I’ve become friends with some girls at Yong Studios, where I become a red-faced sweating monkey while training in tae kwon do (TKD).  But everyone knows each other.  We may not know each other’s names.  We may not have held conservations (yet), but we acknowledge each other’s presence and are pleasant while doing so. 

A good number of TKD students work within the same 4 or 5 blocks.  I’ve run into some and have said hello.  However, there are a couple who I have “run into” where we walk by each other, and even though I recognize them as fellow TKD students and prepare myself for the “hello” exchange, nothing happens.  This has happened to me twice with one person - on the same street, at the same location on the street, and three times with another person – on the same street, at the same location on the street. 

At first, I wasn’t bothered.  But after the 2nd or 3rd time, it makes me wonder why they don’t acknowledge my presence.  Are they just preoccupied?  Do they not recognize me?  Is there a special force within the TKD walls that elicit warm friendships and another on the DC streets that elicit cold, tunnel vision?

It’s strange, which is my point.  Maybe I’ll say hi the next time and see what happens.