Have you ever watched strangers in public because you saw yourself or someone you knew in them? Did you ever think you were seeing yourself later in life?

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2000

Answers

A couple years ago, I was in a bookstore and there was this father/daughter duo in there who looked a lot like my dad and me, just 20 years ago. The man had a strong Southern accent and low voice, just like my dad. The little girl was twitching and twirling around all ADD-like, just as I used to do. I was totally transfixed, and then....he called for her to come along. And she had the SAME NAME as me. I about died. It was like the Twilight Zone.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2000

Leigh Anne, are you sure it wasn't your imagination? :)

uhm..occasionally I see people who look a whole bunch like me, but never something really strong and bad, etc.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2000

When I was in Italy, and my boyfriend and I were walking down a side street near the Duomo in Florence, we saw this old couple that were walking ahead of us with their arms around each other the same way we had our arms around each other, and I nudged him and was all, "Sweetie, that could be US in forty years..." It was funny. I mean, I just had this flash when I saw them of us when we got old.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2000

Good question, May. It really did happen.

I have an active imagination, but my name is not Ally McBeal.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2000

my neighborhood is a retirement communittee, i love watching the still young at heart neighbors frolick around and see the lil' old couples riding their bikes and hope that one day that will be me.

and i see those little princesses prancing around the grocery store with mommy after ballet class- that was me. it doesn't stick, so if your lil' sis', niece, daughter, cousin, friends kids is that lil' princess , be warned: she will go thru many changes, and if she is lucky enough to have an older brother or sister, it will be beaten out of her.

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2000

Once I was in a club and saw this girl sitting in a corner and I felt this weird feeling in my stomache and this thought just popped into my head 'that's me if things had gone differently'. But I meant it. That's me. Like it was a phantom of me sitting there. Some alternate reality me manifesting itself in the club and I sensed it which is why I felt so gnarly when I saw her. The thought 'if things had gone differently' basically meant if I had never discovered the alternative scene yada yada yada and had just continued on the path of trying to be your typical Texas debutant wanna be. I mean she was sitting there in her big hair trying so hard to catch some brainless jock's eye. I feel sorry for the me who is still living that life in another dimension. Yuck.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2000