I Know You

you know when you meet someone and they look familiar? like, a lot, otherwise you wouldn't say anything? and then you say something? and the person says, "I don't think so"? but you also recognize the name of the face so your mind keeps working? no time markers. no placement in time. nothing. just knowing.

abnormal amount of time for me to pinpoint how i know a face: 1 hour
normal time: 1-2 days.
slightly bad amount of time: 2 months.
horrifying amount of time: never (i have one and it's disturbing).

christmas night guy and i go to our neighbors' house for some christmas cheer, just before we fly out to mexico. there we meet a guy. his name i recognize like he's famous, i know it that well. then his face, i look and i know the face, but only barely, like he's a sidelines kinda guy. i think i place him and ask, "do you know my friends DP and LS?" he says, No. HUH. ok...

nearly two months go by. but i still occasionally find myself wondering Who Was That Guy? then tonight i go over to my neighbors' house again. we're hanging out. i remember to tell them, Hey, that guy, your friend the artist who i thought i knew...i still haven't figured it out, but i know i know him and it's buggin'!

M says, well let's look at his facebook page. and this we do. and there's a picture he posted today of a flying eyeball and this flying eyeball takes me back immediately to my psychedelic shop years and i feel a connection. i say with certainty but kind of under my breath, "the flying eyeball* reminds me of The Psychedelic Shop. i know him from The Psychedelic Shop. he was a part of that..." and friend M's husband M says, "yes, he was." and friend M's husband M would know this kind of thing.

i'm amazed. i tell them how i haven't been inside the store (it closed down in '97) or talked to anyone from it since 1995. i realize i'm remembering a face i saw maybe twice and not for at least 14 years. i tell them i think i maybe bought posters from their friend because i was a buyer. that maybe he did some graphics work for my boss or some poster i sold a lot of or...

but no more info came. there's more to this story than i can remember, but i know it's something interesting or i wouldn't be so intent on finding out what it was. "interesting" at The Psychedelic Shop was "shocking and unacceptable" to most of the rest of the world.

i need to remember the room i met him in back then and then i'll know. i just can't see it yet. only the face and the name. and a general geographical clue and span-of-time clue.

major progress was made today on placing this face. it's the only one burning holes in my memory at the moment, but it still hurts.


*amazing and legendary poster artist rick griffin drew the original flying eyeball, as seen in the poster above.