Doppelgänger

I've been meaning to write this blog for some time, but never got around to it.

So what is a doppelgänger?

According to my Webster's dictionary it's -- the ghostly counterpart of a living person, or a double, or an alter ego.

And yes, there are numerous books about doppelgängers, but my question is . . .

Have you ever run into one?

I have--my nephew's doppelgänger.

I've also heard that I have a doppelgänger . . . here . . . in my own town. And that's also where I've seen my nephew's doppelgänger.

My first encounter was last summer when I started walking on my usual trail and I passed a young man who I thought was my nephew. He was tall, nicely built with youth's muscles (shirtless, wearing only jogging shorts and shoes), and a cute smile. Now, I thought it strange that he was jogging in my part of town, considering he lives in a town on the other side of Tulsa. I said, "Hi!" and he said, "I wondered if I would run into you." Er, he was literally running in the opposite direction so I didn't think much of it. I commented on Facebook, but my nephew didn't respond. Eventually I talked to my brother (his father) and found out my nephew didn't come home that weekend. He was at college a couple hours away.

*cue eerie music*

Turns out, my nephew's doppelgänger also goes to school at Oklahoma University. He found out about this other guy from friends who said they greeted him, but he ignored them.

The next time I saw the doppelgänger, I was walking on the trail and he was riding a bike--the opposite way again. But this time I was paying attention. It was cold, so he was wearing a heavy coat, but it didn't cover up his facial features. The doppelgänger had wavy brown hair--parted on the same side, brown eyes, similar nose, nice orthodontist-straightened teeth and a few acne scars . . . just like my nephew.

I FB'd my nephew and he commented that he needed to 'take care of his doppelgänger'. He was joking, of course, but I would love to see his face if he ever met him.

It turns out I have a doppelgänger, too. I learned about her at the State Fair in September. We had stopped at the TPD (Tulsa Police Department) booth and both cops on duty did a double take. Turns out there is a police sergeant who looks like me.

I wonder if my nephew's doppelgänger and mine are related, too.

In a world where there are roughly 7 billion people, it doesn't come as a surprise that there are a few doppelgängers around. What I find really surprising is that two pairs of us live within a few miles of each other.

Even with the gazillion DNA combinations, it isn't surprising that there would be some almost duplicates. National Geographic has even started a Genographic Project mapping how and where our origins populated the world.

Interesting, isn't it.

Would you like to meet your doppelgänger?

I wouldn't mind meeting her. I just hope she doesn't tick off some criminal element who decides to come after me! :-P

Later, Peeps