I’VE JUST SEEN A FACE…

When people tell us that we “look the same” or that we “haven’t changed a bit” despite the passage of time – sometimes even decades - I think what they are really saying is: “I see the essence of who you are and that will always endure.”

Case in point:

Years ago, I was having dinner with my father at a long-gone, north-side Chicago delicatessen called Ashkenaz. Dad was in his late 70s; he would be gone in a few short years. We finished our meal, got up from the table and, as we headed toward the exit, my father stopped short at the sight of another elderly gentleman at a nearby table. The two old men made tentative eye contact, looking oddly at one another as the spark of recognition slowly but surely caught fire.

“Bernstein,” said my father.

“Elkins,” responded Bernstein.

Turns out they were friends in 5th grade but had not seen each other in almost 70 years – not since they were little boys. Today they were weak and wrinkled and gray, yet they still “looked the same.”

“So, what’ve you been up to?”

While that question was on both men’s lips, it remained unspoken. There was nothing to do but shake hands and part company, shared schoolyard memories floating behind their eyes.

The most powerful facial recognition software resides inside the human heart.