As
I was watching the Democratic candidates debate last night I was thinking that
Bernie Sanders reminded me of someone, in looks and the sound of his
voice. Then it hit me. Larry David is his alter ego. I could not “Curb My Enthusiasm” when I
looked up the word that means someone’s look alike. The word is: Doppelganger
(with an umlaut over the “a”. ) I was
not the only one that noticed the resemblance as the next day I saw this
picture posted on a social media sight. (Throw in a Warren Buffet and you’ve
got the Doppelganger Trifecta!)
Doppelganger (What a great word!)
[dop-uh l-gang-er; German daw-puh l-geng-er]
noun
1. a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.
Also called doubleganger.
Origin of doppelgänger
German: literally, double-walker
“Back in the day” my Doppelganger
was Gabe Kaplan, of Welcome Back Kotter fame. With my curly “white man Afro”
and a mustache, I could not go anywhere
without someone saying; “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like…..”
“I know, Mr. Kotter;”
I’d reply before they finished.
I was raised on TV shows of the 60’s which seemed to
have a fascination with the “Doppelganger
effect.” Remember the Patty Duke show
with the “identical cousins”, Patti and Cathy?
Here’s where it gets complicated.
They are identical cousins because their fathers were identical twins. (Can this really happen in “real life?!)
Patty and Cathy also have a Doppelgänger
in a distant cousin, the Southern belle Betsy.
I can hear the theme song; “They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times
they even talk alike….”
We have a guy in our hometown of Portsmouth, NH who
looks exactly like Johnny Depp. There were so many Johnny Depp sightings around town
that the local radio station brought the guy in for an interview. (There could be worse things that having
J.D. as your Doppelganger, right?)
Through the wonder and uniqueness of genetics, there are
millions of combinations of facial recognition features that make people look a
certain way or look like someone else. Even with all the millions of possibilities there may be
someone walking the earth who may be your Doppelganger. (Unless your Doppelganger is Johnny Depp or Angie Harmon, you may be reluctant
to acknowledge the resemblance.)
I think I have a keen sense of the Doppelganger. I’m always saying to my wife, that guy looks just
like so and so. At the gym this morning
I thought I saw Richard Dryfuss, Cher and Shaggy (from the cartoon, Scooby Doo.)
(Note: They were just Doppelgangers.)
Having seen a “side-by-side” picture of Bernie and
Larry, I thought wouldn’t it be helpful if we could employ doppelgangers so the
candidates could maximize their campaign stops and debating. Who can forget the
near perfect Doppelganger effect we
had with Tina Fey and John McCain’s “hockey mom” running mate from Alaska? (All
we needed here was a good hairdresser.) Here’s a few of my ideas to “double your
pleasure, double your fun” with aspiring presidential Doggelgangers. Consider
these candidates, if you will.
(Please note my bi-partisanship in the following
examples.)
Since this candidate is the best at everything,
(including having many Doppelgangers from which to choose and even some from the animal kingdom) lets start with “The
Donald.”
Consider “The Biff,” from Back To The Future to fill in
for the reality show candidate. After
all, we all wish that Trump would “make like a tree and get outa here.”
Or if you’d rather, how about Trump and a howler monkey. I can definitely see the resemblance.
Though he may have to lose the middle school mustache, I
think David Spade could certainly cover for Hillary at some of her stops. (Don’t ask about the email server or you
might get more of a snarky answer than you bargained for.)
Here’s one for all of you fans of The Office; how about
Kevin subbing for Ted Cruz?
Bobby (What me worry?”) Jindle ? (Though Bobby might be Mad about this
choice.)
Chris Christie and Steve Schirripa.
("Sit down and shut up!)
Dr. Ben Carson may say some crazy sh** but as a doctor
he’s probably into Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing.
When we saw what we thought was Mike Huckabee (crying)
at the rally for Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, it was really Kevin Spacey. (Who else could pull of that convincing,
tearful act? Not to mention that Kevin Spacey has some similarities in his
political character.)
Wouldn’t you prefer the English accent of Ricky Gervais
to the high pitched drawl of Lindsey Graham?
Rand Paul is Eddie Haskell. "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. Wallace and I were wondering if Rand and Theodore could accompany us to the debate tonight?"
I will leave you with this one. Even though he can’t run
for another term as POTUS, maybe this guy can (as long as he can produce a
valid birth certificate.)
Steve E. Reno
