It's a curious thing.
I am the unfortunate owner of an unfortunate nose. I have noticed lately - and when I say 'lately' I mean in the last couple of years - that often, when I'm talking to somebody, that somebody will be self-consciously scratching, touching, wiping their nose. Of course it makes me feel self-conscious about the state of my own nose. Are they trying to tell me something? Hinting that maybe I have an errant piece of snot hanging off my nose? Yes, I'm sure I can feel something tickling in my nostril. So I worry and start touching, scratching, wiping at my nose. Which only draws more attention to the unfortunate size and shape of my unfortunate nose. As soon as I can get to a bathroom I check in the mirror and usually - thank god - there is no sign of that errant bit of snot.
But the fact that this happens so frequently has got me wondering. Is this all about my nose? Do people find it confrontational to come face-to-face with me and my nose? When they look at me do they automatically think 'nose' and when they think 'nose' they start to worry about the state of their own nose: "Is there snot showing? Oh dear, I'd better give it a surreptitious wipe just in case."
Or is it just coincidence that this seems to always happen to me? Am I seeing things because I am overly sensitive about my nose? Or is it that everyone is always scratching their nose? Are there just a lot of itchy noses out there?
If there are any readers out there, please help enlighten me on this issue.
