Familiar voices
We all know that fingerprints have unique patterns for each person, which is why people are required to supply an impression of their fingerprints when getting certified for various positions. I had to be “fingerprinted” when I got my CPA license, and those prints had to go to both the Department of Justice and the FBI. Very often suspects of criminal activities have to supply their fingerprints so they may either be accused or exonerated from the crime.
It’s amazing to think that every individual in the world, over all the existing centuries, has fingerprints that are not like anyone else’s. Even each finger on each hand has unique fingerprints.
It is also amazing to me how many different faces there are in this world, and that no two faces look exactly alike, except in the case of identical twins. (And, as a matter of fact, even identical twins do not have identical fingerprints.) Noses can look similar, and lips can look almost alike, and eyes can look similar, but when you put all the features together, all faces are different.
Voices are also different for each individual. There are studies on voice patterns, and because of the sizes and shapes of each person’s body and vocal cords, each person’s voice is unique.
When you hear the voice of someone you know, you can usually recognize it, even if you haven’t seen the face. This, too, is absolutely amazing. The voices of some of the folks I have known continue to resonate in my head. I can remember the voice of my mother, of my best friend, and my seventh-grade teacher. Even though it has been many years since I have heard some of the voices of my past, I still remember how most of those voices sounded.
Think of these. Ronald Reagan. Barak Obama. Jimmy Durante. Judy Garland. Do you remember Johnny Carson’s voice? How about Kermit the Frog or Bart Simpson? If you were a contestant on a quiz show, you would probably be able to identify the voice of James Earl Jones, or Oprah Winfrey.
Some famous voices are not so easy to identify, probably because they don’t seem as distinctive as some of the ones I have just mentioned. However, if a person was important in your life for one reason or another, the voice will usually stay in your mind, and help you to remember the loved one in an endearing way.
My Dad recently passed away, and as I remember him, I have his voice in my mind. This is the conversation I hear in my head, and the greeting I remember when I would give him a call.
“Hi, Daddy.”
And he would say, “Hello, Teau!” This is a nickname he called me, a morphed version of “Total,” which was a shortened version of “Total Sweetness.”
I will always remember his voice. I love him very much.
— My love to all,
Nancy
• • •
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
— John 10:3
