That’s life 4-30-2010

Nope, sorry. It was only me.

I cannot imagine she hears it that often, or ever, but I do. Sometimes even once a week, I find myself being asked, “Do you know how much you look like Rachel Maddow?” To those who know me and watch her show, it seems pretty uncanny how much we look alike, have similar mannerisms and even seem to sound the same as well. Maddow, an MSNBC commentator, can be seen every evening hosting her show, “The Rachel Maddow Show”. A former colleague of mine used to tell me all the time, “You were great last night,” mocking the apparent similarities between the two of us. (Of course, I have no show, unless you count the entertaining hour otherwise known as ‘bedtime’. Pull up a chair and enjoy the show. Bring your own popcorn.)

I’ve been stopped by complete strangers and asked if I am on television. Just last week, I noticed two older gentlemen in the supermarket who were trying hard to seem as if they were not staring at me, but then walked by and then commented to each other as they stood about 15 feet away, “No — I don’t think it’s her.” I knew who they were talking about. I’ve heard it all before.

Truth is, I couldn’t see it myself. People say that everyone has a twin and I figured I must be the exception. That was until I was flipping through a magazine in a doctor’s office a couple of weeks ago and found an article on Ms. Maddow in which she is looking over a pair of glasses that has slipped down to the bridge of her nose. I do that all the time. And that’s when I saw it — Yes, we do look alike. And it’s a little freaky.

With permission, I took the magazine home to show my family, curious as to what they would think. I showed it to my husband who simply stared at the picture for a couple of seconds, his eyes bugging out of his head. “Wow,” he said. “You really do look like her.” After reading the article, he added, “You know, if you didn’t share the same politics, it would be a really funny show to see the two of you behind a desk.” That’s what they need at MSNBC — Bring Your Twin to Work day.

But of course, nothing says ‘reality check’ like comments from your kids. Showing the magazine to my second-to-oldest child, she looked at it a couple of times and then back at me. “A really, really little bit,” she said, “she reminds me of someone but I’m not sure who.”

Then I showed it to my eldest. She looked at it for a moment, handed it back to me and said, “Never seen her before in my life.”

MLW