Wednesday, May 14, 2008

When parallel universes get mistaken for one another

I first heard of Julie in the summer of 1992. At a stoplight on Hennepin Ave, windows down, someone yelled "Julie!" so loud, I turned my head. Since I was looking at them blankly, they hurried on, no doubt feeling a little foolish. This happened twice more that summer. I began to wonder.

Incidents like this began to happen with some frequency.

That’s when I realized: I have a doppelganger named Julie. And while I do have a long list of aliases (as a professional bellydancer, voiceover artist, radio personality, and budding standup comic) 'Julie' is not now and never has been one of them.

Once, I was shopping at North Country Co-op when a pleasant young man engaged me in conversation. After a bit, he said, "Aren't you Julie?" "No," I replied. "Didn't you go to Macalester?" "No," again. "Are you SURE?" ('Cause he was.) I said, "No, but I get that a lot."

He paused, a little embarrassed, clearly wondering why Julie would lie. "Well, she's a really nice person..." then, looking at me sideways. "You ARE Julie aren't you?"

Sigh. I guess I'm her evil twin.

I wonder if Julie gets asked, "Aren't you Sarah? Aren't you a bellydancer? A voiceover artist, a radio personality, trying stand-up comedy?

So: Julie, if you're out there, email me!! Let’s bring the parallel universes together.

No comments:

Post a Comment