One of the faces that launched thousands of internet memes features an image sourced from stock photos of a mature aged gent with a fixed smile and eyes that seem to portray mixed emotions about the situation he’s found himself in.
He was dubbed ‘Hide the pain Harold.’
Oddly enough he features in large numbers of memes aimed at pastors.
I have no idea why.
None whatsoever.
This article from Guardian online relates how András Arató, of Budapest, came to be the subject of the photo, and how he has sought to claim the identity that had achieved online notoriety, even making something of a later-life career out of the situation.
Turns out he really is smiling on both the outside and the inside.
Well worth a read:
I’m 74 now. I spent 40 years as an engineer. I did a bit of public speaking then, at conferences and lectures, but that was very different from appearing on television talkshows and YouTube videos. As an engineer, it was really me. Now, it’s role play: I’m Hide the Pain Harold. But I’m not actually a sad guy – I think I’m rather a happy one.
Read the whole article at Guardian online.
