"You look just like . . . ."

When people say "people are always telling me I look like (blank) " it's usually a form of desperate self-flattery. And more often than not, these people have no resemblance to any celebrity whatsoever. To my knowledge, I have never used that line. But because my hair falls a certain way and I've got a protruding chin, there' s a certain country singer that people seem to think I look like. I've heard this comment approximately 38 times. Maybe you've heard of this person. His name is Randy Travis. And it's embarrassing when people say this to me because I'm not really sure what to say in response. "Thanks?" No, that's not honest. I'm not a fan of Mr Travis' music. It's kind of corny. And I don't consider him to be particularly handsome. But people who tell me this are usually fans of Senior Travis. They act as if it's a compliment. And if I resist, it's sometimes taken as an insult by the ardent Randy Travis fan. Karen thinks this is funny when I'm cornered by the Randy Travis conundrum.

Many years ago, I was dating a girl who had an offkilter father. I was over at his house and he ran to get a copy of the New York Times Sunday magazine. "You look just like a musician in this magazine!" Here it comes. But to my surprise, it wasn't my favorite Nashville cheeseball. Instead it was another 4o-ish guy. The article featured a photo of a gentleman who was making money playing songs for children at parties in NYC. He has curly hair and is even less attractive than R. Travis. But I knew exactly who he was. It was former Del Fuegos frontman Dan Zanes --- of whom I bare absolutely no resemblance. But I love Dan Zanes and the Del Fuegos! Their mid 80's roots rock stirred my soul. So from now on, if some other off-kilter human approaches me and insists that I look like Dan Zanes, I will sing "Don't Run Wild" for them right then and there.