Separated At Birth: Me And Penn Jillette

OK, I'll admit it. At various times in my life, I've been mistaken for a celebrity. Depending on tiny elements such as hair, wardrobe and weight, determined who I've been mistaken for.

Usually, the person that I'm mistaken for is a lot older. In my late teens and early twenties, I was mistaken for Eddie Vedder a few times. I was clean shaven and wore my hair long, at that time. When I wore my hair short, I was mistaken for John Cusack. Either people were seeing something that I wasn't or they really needed glasses. Maybe it was the Chicago area connection. Who knows.

Over the years, various names popped up and were quickly dismissed by me. I guess I have a face that has some quality that people subconsciously identify with but can't put a finger on.

The last few years, it's been Penn Jillette. I can kinda see that one. We even share a similar lack of facial recall, meaning it's hard to pick people we know out of a crowd. When I'm usually mistaken for Penn, I have my hair long and wear it in a ponytail. The worst example came from when I was dining out at an Indian restaurant about two years ago.

While I was eating my dinner, I noticed a woman in her fifties staring at me. This continued the entire meal. If I looked in her direction, she would immediately turn, as if I wouldn't notice the quick movements. It was painfully obvious because my seat was facing in her direction.

I saw the woman excitedly tell the rest of the people in her party something and then they all turned and looked while trying not to draw attention to themselves. The restaurant was serving a buffet that night and my table was in between theirs and the buffet. This served as an excuse for each of them to walk past my table.

I watched as they walked past one by one. As soon as each had a turn past me, and the entire party had returned, the table buzzed with activity. The group finished their meal and got up to leave. The lady who first "recognized" me stopped and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"I hate to bother you, but may I ask a question?", asked the woman. I said yes, thinking that she already asked one question without my permission. "Are you Penn Jillette?", she asked.

When I told her that I wasn't, she seemed a little disappointed. "Has anyone told you that you look exactly like him?", she exclaimed. I told her that I get that all the time. "Are you sure you're not him? You look just like him!", she said.

I assured her that I wasn't who she thought I was. She walked away and I heard her say to the rest of her party, "I bet he just wanted to eat in peace and didn't want to be recognized." Yeah, you got me lady. Sorry about that.

Penn Jillette turned 54 in March. I turned 33 today. Should I be flattered that I was mistaken for a celebrity or insulted that said celebrity is 21 years older than I am?