Coffee with my Doppelganger!

IMG-20151002-00692 IMG-20151002-00690Coffee with a Misanthrope

Here is my experience with inviting someone to coffee and writing about it as prescribed by FreeBryd–

FreeBryd advised me to begin thus:–

If we were drinking coffee right now, I’d invite my doppelganger.

Obviously who else can a misanthrope talk to?

Misanthropy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views …

If we were drinking coffee right now, I’d have my doppelganger sitting opposite me.I have this cap and I have these sunglasses. When I wear them all and sundry start waving to me and wishing me good morning and good evening. Without the cap and sunglasses people are unwilling to even give me the time of day.

My doppelganger now you know wears dark glasses and a cap. He walks reasonably fast. People wave and smile when they see him. I resent him. He is the Superman to my Clark Kent.

Is this a magic cap? Are these charmed sunglasses?

Being a misanthrope I’m uncomfortable with this popular persona outside me. Am I inside him? Or is he inside me and comes out when I wear the cap and sunglasses?

Chatting with Doppy I realize this guy is cool. He does not get angry. He has a composed demeanor. He does not hate. He accepts. He knows what the world is. Populated by both by the guided and the misguided. I can see this cap cools him down.

“You have made a lot of friends with the help of this cap and those stupid sunglasses. Inside you are me. I don’t like your cunning ways!”

Doppy just stares back and smiles. I am going to take off the damned cap and glasses then we’ll see. As I reached for the cap he muttered something. I said, ‘don’t mumble speak louder.’

“People like me because I love them and accept them. You hide from people. You are extremely afraid of your passing days, of relentless ageing, of getting old. We are all frail humans doing stupid things. I accept all those stupid things and say I love you through my glasses.”

I instantly took the cap off. Doppy disappeared. A sneering sunglassed reflection met me in the mirror opposite. The mirror said, ‘Just smile and say hello’ that’s what Doppy does.

I hate getting old I hate being friendly. Once you say, “hello” it starts a damned chain of hellos. Maybe I do not want to say hello the next day. Yes I am grumpy and I want to stay that way. That is my wall. People ask too many questions. You have to tell them everything. This Doppy is getting younger, while I get testy and old. What will happen to all the words I have learned?

The mirror replied with a poem–

“Auch alte worte

Die ich gefunden habe

Meine unvollstandigen

Meine ungesalttigten worte”—Erich Fried


“And all the words

I have found

My incomplete

My unsatisfied words”

“Zerstreuen in alle vier winde

Wenn ich erst tot bin”

“But they’ll scatter them

To the four winds

As soon as I am dead”

“So mushy” I told the mirror and took off the sunglasses.