Doppelgangers

               Have you ever had someone come up to you and say you look just like___? I have had this happen a number of times which begs the question “Who are these women and why do they look like me?”  Whoever they are I hope they are having as much fun in life as I am.  Someone who isn’t having a lot of fun right now is Mike Rowe. Poor Mike, in case you haven’t heard Mike was turned in by a tipster as a possible suspect for a bank robbery in Oregon. What I find amusing is obviously the person tipping off the police knows who Mike Rowe is and what he does for a living. Did he make the connection that robbing banks is a dirty deed so obviously Mike Rowe was filming a new episode of “Dirty Jobs” or perhaps our anonymous tipster thought Mike Rowe was performing research for “Somebody’s Gotta Do It”.  Whatever the case was, Mike had to go on social media and point out a few salient facts such as although the robber bears a passing resemblance if you squint just right, there is a 4” height with matching weight difference AND he was in a different state at the time of the robbery.

                If you’ve been questioned about resembling someone, then just like Mike Rowe you have a doppelganger. Wait a minute, I have what? In simpler terms, you have a double. Doppelgangers are common themes in myths, legends, and modern fiction. Who wouldn’t want a double to be the fall guy? It wasn’t me, it was him! The seductive lure of having a double to act as a foil or complement to the main character can be found in these classics; “William Wilson” by Edgar Allen Poe, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain. Have you read them? If you haven’t read them in a while, search your shelves and cozy up for a good read.