One of the most difficult tasks as you get older is remembering names and spelling them correctly. My only saving grace is this adage: "You forget names ... but it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!"
But for me that's no excuse. Since I write a society column, Inside Saratoga, it is necessary for me to know the correct spelling of people's names.
Here is a few secrets I use. Have a husband that has a better memory than yours. I'm lucky that way. When you recognize someone, but forget their name, ask how to spell it even if you are embarassed. Try to correlate the person with an object or another's person name. For example, I recently met author Candace Bushnell and her husband, NYCB principal dancer, Charles Askegard. So, I wouldn't forget their first names my husband made the correlation between Candace and Charles Wait, who we know well.
And finally, I get a list of the party guests' names, but make sure that it has the correct spelling.
After all it could be Brown or Browne or Smith or Smyth. There is nothing more embarassing than an incorrect spelling in the newspaper or online.
If anyone has a couple of other tips they use let me know. Just email me at jjordan@saratogian.com or put a comment at the end of this blog. Thanks.