Double Takes

Double take: n. a delayed reaction indicating surprise

I'm sure you know what a double take is, and have probably experienced it. Although this is a fairly accurate definition, to me, implied in the definition is a sort of weirdness relating to the surprise. A feeling of being suspended between the surreal and concrete.

Maybe not ALL double takes relate to something totally out of the ordinary, but I can think of three that were so surreal, I'll probably never forget them. I list in order of increasing weirdness.

1. "I Thought They Left!"

This experience took place just this past Saturday night. My mom and I went with my brother and his family to a local Armed Forces Day celebration. (Sidenote: Hurray for our troops!!) We parked next to each other in the parking lot, took in the carnival, ate a funnel cake (mandatory activity at a carnival!) and came back to the car to watch the fireworks. My brother decided to take the little girls home-- I don't blame him since they probably would have screamed through the entire thing and it WAS past their bedtime.

Immediately after he pulled out of his parking space, a car pulled in. I glanced back. Now, the car looked EXACTLY like my brother's car and he HAD just pulled out, so I thought it was Jonathan. My head whipped around again (aka Double Take) and I'm thinking, "They just left. Why is he coming back?!" I'm sure I had a strange look on my face and that my mouth was slightly agape. The people in the car looked back at me like I was a terrorist. After that split second where the reality of the situation finally hit me, I almost laughed when I imagined what THEY had to see. I almost went over to the car to explain why I looked at them so strangely, but I didn't want to make the situation worse.

2. "I See Her But I Can't Hear Her, Yet I Can Hear It."

I was driving in my car the other day, listening to a random song on a random radio station. (Silence in a car is almost unbearable.) All of a sudden, I glance to the car next to me and notice that the woman is singing. My eyes see that she's singing, but obviously I can't hear her. My ears register the song that's playing. As my hearing collides with my seeing, my brain realizes she's singing the song I'm listening to in MY car! I can't even begin to explain how strange this feeling was. Another moment where my brain was suspended in reality for just a second.


3. "Now You See Him, But... It's Not Him!"


This experience was so surreal, it will forever be in my memory. In August 2000, I traveled to Prince Edward Island with four fabulous friends. (A fantastic vacation destination-- I highly recommend it!) On our way back, we stayed the night in Maine. After driving all day, it was time to eat, so C and I went to the local Pizza Hut to pick up some pizza.

At the counter, I gave my order to this guy who was tall and really skinny. He told me the total, and I opened my wallet to get the cash out. I accidentally dropped the wad of cash, so I bent down to pick it up. When I stood up, I looked up to the place where I thought the guy's head would be. Except it wasn't there. In his place was this short and chubby guy.

It literally felt like I blinked my eyes and there was a different guy- like a computer-generated special effect. C will tell you that I was speechless for a couple of seconds, just staring, chin hitting the floor. I could not function in that suspended moment where my brain had not yet realized it was a different guy, but was instead wondering, "How did he DO that?!"

How hard it is, sometimes, to trust the evidence of one's senses!

How reluctantly the mind consents to reality.

-Norman Douglas -

- Julie -