Introduction: Reflections of a Lone Twin

Today, I am initiating a new section of this blog, Twins in a World of Singletons.  I am calling this section, Reflections of a Lone Twin.  Each new Reflection will appear in this section, not as a regular Posting.  Here I will think and reflect on paper about some aspect of being a lone twin in a world of singletons.  Lone twin is the term used to describe a twin whose twin has died.  The lone twin is not necessarily alone or lonely, but simply alive without his/her twin. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!  O.k., so they weren't lovers, but I just couldn't resist....

In about a month, I will commemorate the 23rd anniversary of my identical twin's death on Friday, March 31, 1989.  As I prepare for my annual rites of remembrance,which sometimes, strangely enough, I forget, I do so for the first time in which I have a loving partner in my life.  All these 23 years, I have been missing something in my life, something distinct from, but intimately connected to, the loss at 50 of the constant companionship and mutual love of my twin.

Now I realize what I was missing, although only because now I have what I was missing:  Someone who loves me unconditionally even as I love him unconditionally.  How was it, I ask myself, that I could not see something so simple as having or not having a constant lover in my life.  Everyday, I either hear or read about people
  • Looking for someone...
  • Looking for Ms. Right or Mr. Right...
  • Looking to find that one person called my Lover and my Beloved...
For singletons, this search goes on all the time, usually ending in marriage, living together, or simply being friends and lovers for life.   For singletons, the lucky ones seem to be those who meet and fall in love as teenagers, like Romeo and Juliet, marry, and live happily ever after.

But for identical twins, the "other half" is literally the other half!  So a search for a person to love and be loved by never even begins:  As soon as the splitting of the nucleus of the zygote created by Mom and Dad, a partnership for life is created.

Here are some themes I intend to share in my reflections:
  • What about identical twins and sex?
  • Plato's Other Half analogy and Identical Twins
  • Couple Power, pluses and minuses, especially as applied to identical twins.

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    Reflections of a Lone Twin...

    What's New on My Blogs?

    October 2011
    Here's the latest goings-on with my blogs"
    George in Thailand
    Since several members of my family have asked how I was doing with all the flooding in Thailand, I have posted some observations and three videos. In Meet My New Thai Friend I introduce you to Pramool. Charming!
    Twins in a World of Singletons
    I haven't made any new postings recently. When I have any new thoughts or feelings or observation on what it means to be a twin, I will post them.
    The Lotus Sutra and Me
    I haven't made any new postings for awhile, but I have plenty of notes for when I do.
    George W. Ross, MEd
    Nothing new here either. Since this is primarily for those interested in my background and experience in my professional life as an educator. As I am retired and not teaching any longer, I have nothing new to add!
    A note about how I prepare to write for my blogs: I carry a little notebook with me, and whenever something that I think you'll like or that I simply want to share, I write about it in a new post.

    That's all, Folks!

    A Mystical Bond

    My Posting of July 19, 2011, contains an article on my twin and me titled, A Mystical Bond. It was written by Sandra Boodman as a human interest story. I would be donating bone marrow to Jimmy in a protocol conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The study was to determine how effective AZT, the only medication at the time for AIDS patients. We joined the study mainly to participate in research that might lead to more effective treatments for patients with AIDS. There was a possibility that the study might help Jimmy; however, we all knew that the chances of his benefiting personally from the study were, as Jimmy said, "slim and fat, since the expressions 'slim chance' and 'fat chance' mean the same thing even though slim and fat are opposites." Jimmy liked those kind of linguistic canundrums. In the end, Jimmy got an added six months of life. We were both happy about that.