[Ol' Dan Tucker]

I went out to Oshkosh Wisconsin many years ago, for the big aviation event they have out there, and I ran into Chuck Yeager. My buddy and I were both great admirers of Chuck Yeager and what he had done, and my friend just wanted to say hello, but I just thought Yeager was extremely rude.

It took me some time to think about it, but I eventually concluded that it would be right of me to be tolerant of Yeager's behavior. I thought about it, and I realized he had never asked for any of the fame that came his way. He just wanted to do the things he liked doing, and people put all kinds of weight on that, and I have heard it is something he never became comfortable with.

The flip side of this is that people like Yeager feel like they've been put on public display simply for the things they've done. Paul Newman said he stopped signing autographs after an occasion when he was standing at a urinal in a public men's room and a man approached him with pen and paper in hand, asking for an autograph. He also related how people would stop him on the street and ask him to take off his sunglasses so they could see his eyes.

I've experienced this to a minor degree because I was born a twin. When some folks find out, they ask me the same, tiresome, cliched, questions about growing up with a twin brother. I won't repeat them here, but trust me that there's no "twin" question anyone can think of that I haven't been asked 10,000 times before.

But, I agree with you. Generally speaking, when I see a 'celebrity' in a public setting, I generally will leave them alone.

[rlmorel]

Yeah. I just cannot see any benefit to stalking some celebrity or athlete.

That said, if I were to have run into someone like Admiral James Stockade in a grocery store, I would have made a point to walk up to him, introduce myself and ask if I could shake his hand.

I kind of understand the interest people have regarding twins...but I guess as long as their last name isn’t Mengele, I wouldn’t be alarmed. But you, having lived life with a twin, probably have had your fill of inquisitors.

My dad was Navy, so we moved around a lot. I went to a lot of different schools growing up. At his last duty station near Andrews AFB in Maryland, I went to Surrattsville High School for two years. Normally, when you are new to a big school, nobody gives a rat’s patootie about you. But at this school, from my first day, people would smile at me and say hello. It was odd for me, but I thought perhaps people were just being nice.

Then, one day as I walked down a hall, I saw a kid coming towards, me, and he was staring at me. As I saw him, I was staring at him, too.

He looked like...me! It was weird. I don’t know how common it is for people who look at other people and recognize a similar, but I did there, and it was definitely odd. After I passed him, I turned to look at his retreating back, and at the same time, he turned to look back at me, so I don’t think it was just me! I immediately realized that people were greeting me because they thought I was that other guy.

Oddly, I rarely saw that kid again, we must have just traveled in different circles.

They say everyone has a doppelgänger in this world...you happened to be born with one and grew up with him!