As I read, this morning, of the death of one of my cousins and one of my Dad's cousins, it brought back a rush of memories. My Dad's family used to have reunions on a regular basis when I was young, so I met 2nd and 3rd cousins a lot.

Anyway, reading the obituaries reminded me of two odd occurrences in my life that happened a few years apart, but are related.

While in college, I would pass a guy every day who would say "Hey Cathy!". Being rushed to get to my next class, I would just say "Hey" and move on. Then one day my curiosity got the best of me and I took the time to ask him why he called me Cathy. He said, you aren't Cathy (surname the same as mine)? I told him no, so he said he just had to introduce us to each other. I finally met Cathy briefly and we looked very much alike.

As strange at that may be, a few years later I saw a guy at a softball game that I thought I knew from high school. So, I called out "Hey Sam!"  He turned and said "Hey.......do I know you?" So I told him my name (with my maiden name, the same as Cathy's) and asked if he was Sam Mitchell. He said, no I am Sam (same surname as Cathy and me). Then I asked if he had a sister named Cathy. He did!

We never did establish a familial connection in our brief meeting, though I'm sure it existed. Perhaps at that young an age (20's), we didn't find it important enough to explore. Maybe distant cousins? Not sure.

Isn't that strange?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doppelganger