Tuesday, 3 May 2011 09:38 pm
(no subject)
This evening, I was reflecting on how we usually make assumptions about strangers' relationships. When there's an adult with a kid, we assume they're parent and child unless they look unrelated (as with a major skin tone difference), in which case we may assume a sitter. When a man and woman are seen together, we assume they're dating or, especially with older adults, married. And when two men or two women are together, unless they're flamboyantly gay, we tend to assume mere friendships.
Funny I should be having these thoughts now, because within the hour, I opened an usher renewal form from Arena Stage addressed to "Mr. and Mrs." me, with my sister's email address included. Most likely, someone got the wrong idea from us being two adults close in age, having the same surname, and coming to usher together. An easy mistake, yet rather mortifying.
What makes this less excusable is that we thought they'd recognized, already belatedly, that we don't share a home address or an email address. Arena does good plays, but their communication system leaves something to be desired.
Funny I should be having these thoughts now, because within the hour, I opened an usher renewal form from Arena Stage addressed to "Mr. and Mrs." me, with my sister's email address included. Most likely, someone got the wrong idea from us being two adults close in age, having the same surname, and coming to usher together. An easy mistake, yet rather mortifying.
What makes this less excusable is that we thought they'd recognized, already belatedly, that we don't share a home address or an email address. Arena does good plays, but their communication system leaves something to be desired.
no subject