Tomorrow I’ll start posting new pictures at kitsnaps, but it’s too late tonight. However, this one picture is too odd to not post about in the blog.
I took it during the parade and at the time noticed something that I immediately forgot. When I started going through pictures tonight, I found the picture again and said to Ted, “Come here and tell me if you see in this picture what I see in it.”
Here’s the picture:
Ted came over, looked at it, and said, “That’s you.”
I have been mistaken innumerable times in my life for someone else. It started when I was 9, and looked like a girl in my 5th grade class’s best friend from wherever they’d moved from. The best friend was named Bonnie. Darcie told me about her. When I went to Darcie’s birthday party, her mom opened the door and stared at me *completely* incredulously and said, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I’m Catie, I’m here for Darcie’s party,” and she jolted and invited me in. It was only a while later I realized she’d thought I was Bonnie.
In college I used to have people come up to me and pick up conversations they’d had with other people. I was never clever enough to get into the conversation with them; I’d just stare at them blankly until they’d finally say, “Oh. You’re not Michelle,” and hurry off looking embarrassed. (This happened with more than one name; it wasn’t just Michelle.)
I did, one time, while working in the archives, come across a 1950s high school photograph of a woman who looked exactly like me in the first of the four photos of her. That was startling.
A few years ago at the gym I went in at about 5am, my usual time at that juncture, and the girl behind the desk said, “You’re in early!” to me. I said, “Not really, maybe a few minutes,” and didn’t think anything of it. Except about twenty minutes later another woman said to me, “You got your hair cut!” and I said, “Um, not recently,” at which point she looked incredibly uncomfortable and hurried away. I realized then that both she and the girl behind the desk had mistaken me for some other person (presumably the same person).
I have never actually *seen* someone I thought could be mistaken for me. I actually noticed it as I was snapping that photo, and wished I’d had *her* in focus instead of the next person over (that’s why the background is in B&W; I wanted to emphasize her, and the focus isn’t as good on her). Her nose is different from mine, but…
Once Ted verified I wasn’t imagining things, I sent it to Mom and Dad and Deirdre and Gavin, who said things like, “Is there a third Murphy girl I don’t know about?” and “Where did you GET that photo?” and “You took a picture of yourself! How surreal!” and “Her earlobes even flow right into her head!” (which someone said to me in high school: “Did you know your earlobes *flow* right into your *head*?” “Yes,” I said, because they did.) Ted said it was a cool mirror I’d taken a picture in: it reflected Military Kit! Dad said, “Military Kit! The first in a line of Cate Dermody action figures!”
I showed Marith, who said, “I haven’t seen Kit in person in years and I recognize her instantly from that photo.”
So I put a fuzzy hat on so I’d have approximately the same amount of forehead showing as my doppleganger does, and took a profile picture. The lighting’s totally different and the angles aren’t the same, but…
And now I’m going to bed. :)
That’s Kit, all right, but who’s that on the right?
That’s funny, when I saw the picture, I first thought it was a picture of you, then I thought she must be a relative. Weird to have people look like you–especially when you don’t know them…
The funny thing is, of the bottom two, if you’d posted asking which one was you and which one was some random girl, I’d have gotten it wrong.
My boss went to Greece, and found a waiter who was my spitting image, apparantly. Damn it, I’m a unique snowflake!
That happened to me a lot at UAF, as well. I never understood it- people kept thinking I was Melissa Ritter if they weren’t thinking we were sisters. Hello, I’m… I’m TALL! Comparatively! *laugh* Happened with a few other people too… at least I had the advantage of being mistaken for people I knew. Most of the time. ;)
I love the idea of action figures. We can have Military Kit, and Athlete Kit, and Baker Kit, and Auntie Kit , and over in the corner staring very very hard at the computer screen is Writer Kit…
Good heavens! I totally thought you’d gotten really into St Patty’s day (lots of green!) or something, when looking at the picture at the top of your post, out of context. That’s remarkable.
Incidentally, I still think Dar Williams looks astonishingly like you from certain angles.
When I first saw the picture I thought “Catie got a cool new hat!” and then I thought “Why is Catie wearing camo?” before I read the rest of the blog.
The resemblance is astounding!
I actually didn’t think the first picture was you. :) I /did/ think that she looked an awful lot like you, but there are definitely differences. You do both have the same genetically attached earlobe, but different ears. :)
At least your doppelganger is someone cool: G.I. Kit!
Mine is a Roman Catholic nun in Cincinnati who belongs to a bowling league on the west side. Which is at least amusing, if not cool.
That was just disturbing. If I had seen her on the street, I would have done one of the typical greeting rituals and been horribly, horribly embarrassed.
I’ll bet that really shook you up.
I think we all have at least one doppelganger.
I have had people say are you so-and-so’s sister? Or aren’t you so-and so?
And they don’t believe me when I say I’m not!