Alter Egos 5-23-21

Standby

—Cary Holmquist.

  When I watch a movie or t.v. series, I can get immersed in enough that I seem to feel that I take on the character of the protagonist, and so I suppose you could say that becomes, for a short time anyway, my alter ego du jour.

And so, I have become the runners in the movie “Gallipoli,” both yearning to be a part of WWI action AND wanting to stay out of the war in Turkey and save my skin in western Australia.  

Or I somehow find the inner resources to survive and escape from the relentless “Alien” and the “Terminator.”  So far, judging by this recitation, it seems that I am stuck in the movies and imaginations of the 1970s and 80s....

It gets really overwhelming when I  am watching an ensemble cast production and so I have to watch the movie over and over so I can feel complete, covering all the egos presented.   And that can perhaps explain why I saw the first “Star Wars” movie 22 times the summer it came out—and why over the years I practically memorized “Steel Magnolias,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Bandits” and “Armageddon.”  Don’t get me started on “Aladdin” or “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

It also explains why I avoid most horror or slasher flicks—ewwww!

Recently I got on a bit of a kick with—of all things—Cary Grant movies.  The name coincidence there gets me carried away.... And it stretches me all over a spectrum, as Cary Grant acted out a variety of very different characters, from a misdirected fiancé who was a professor of dinosaur anatomy in “Bringing Up Baby” to ever-ego-changing secret agent in “Charade”— he had five or six names in that one—and then there was the time “[He] was a Male War Bride!”  Although...he got some great kisses with Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly—but I digress....

(See what alter ego-ing can do for you?  Sure, the fantasies are entertaining, but they can also get you questioning looks from your spouse.  Watch out.)  

Alter egos can be diverting and some specific themes and lessons learned from their on-screen experiences, but nonetheless, they are scripted—written by someone else and presented scene by scene fro specific angles.   Living real life turns out much more vivid than black-and-white or technicolor video.

Jena and I --Alter Ego

Carrie Keiser

No one sees the person inside, the superhero waiting to emerge. When she looks in the mirror, Jena, sees her. She is bold and determined, a champion for the underdog. Why don’t people connect her with that girl? Well, she does change her appearance, when the hero is present. A little hairstyle change, take out the normalizing contacts, allow her skin to shine through the covering she wears daily.  The face the world sees is the disguise. She is one of the gifted. One born different. In order to be a part of society, she must look like everyone else. Her violet eyes stand out so she tones them down, her natural purple hair is somewhat the norm nowadays, but she masks it to blend in and it appears black with purple highlights, her skin is a light lavender color, to others it appears the perfect shade of sun kissed. 

Jena has the ability to change her looks into whomever she pleases. It helps to infiltrate the organizations that she investigates for criminal activities in order to rescue those who have been caught up, kidnapped or otherwise forced to be a part of.  With this ability, Jena has been able to help many people she can sneak them out in plain sight by casting an illusion and temporally change their appearance until they have reached safety.

My alter ego or who I would be if I weren’t me! 

Colleen Holmquist

Sage of the Final Frontier 

Consciousness claimed my brain; I paused waiting on the First Thought to waft through hoping for a sign that Sage was here. Good days—warm, colorful, sunny Saturdays like this one—signaled the possibility of her presence. She had never materialized on a dark, cloudy or rainy day. I sensed the First Thought before it coalesced, “Must have organic, responsibly sourced 70% dark chocolate infused with raspberries and fortified with chopped almonds!” Hallelujah—it’s Sage! 

I leapt from my bed chamber and bounded to the mirror—just to be sure.  Shimmering, honeyed, unbroken skin tones; playful bouncy waves of copper-streaked amber tresses fell across my shoulders and cascaded down my back.  Animated azure eyes with flecks of purest gold sparkled mischievously. As a final assurance, barely above a whisper a few words rolled breathlessly from my mouth and my ears caught the airy notes of her voice—the transformation was complete. All doubt now extinguished; Sage in all her unflappable person was here and adventure hung expectantly overhead like fog lingering in the atmosphere.

Sage travels light—through the air with the greatest of ease—bounding through the universe like a squirrel leapfrogging across grassy parks and ascending trees.  Minutes hold their breath—hours hang in limbo when she takes over.

Sage erupted from my subconscious confidence oozing through her smile the day I captured my first arachnid.  She reappeared when I planted my debut garden and watched the corn grow overnight.  Through the years she burst through whenever the challenges seemed overwhelming with a shot of assurance pushing me to conquer all my doubts, all the while slowly and carefully coaxing me from my garden into a universe I hadn’t dared to imagine.

I aged but she anti-aged looking younger each time her image peered back at me from the mirror. My kids grew up and I beckoned Sage on every sunny Saturday but she appeared at her will not mine adding mystery, excitement and spontaneity to the escapades.

Her imagination, my dreams and heroes—time travel, back holes, vortexes, transporters, holodecks, tricorders, the Starship Enterprise and Deep Space Nine, Commander Benjamin Lafayette Sisko and Captains James Tiberius Kirk, and Jean Luc Picard—came together in out of this world adventures! 

Violet Rodgers 

Vanessa Holmquist

Violet Rogers is not your ordinary woman. Her sense of adventure had taken her across the globe. Learning new things and helping those around her are what fuels her. From learning the art of Capoeira in Brazil to making traditional ramen in China. She never says no to a new adventure. A friend that she met through travel Anita, calls her for help. Her little village is regularly attacked by a small group of miscreants, who terrorizes the townsfolk. They come in every few months and take what they want, destroy their homes, and sometimes even injure the people of this little town. When Violet decided to help, she knew that she needed to help prepare this village to fight this gang. For weeks she trained them in hand-to-hand combat and making weapons to defend themselves. They continued to train and prepare for this fight. One day a look out shouted that the gang were headed to town. Violet called everyone to their places. With the young children stashed out of the village for safety. The plan began. This gang were surprised to see the town quiet and empty. Unsure of what to think they proceeded inside the village headed to the local drinking hut. Before they could enter, a small group of villagers were in the middle of the road. The local leader Mateo calls out to them. “We are giving you this chance leave and never return.” He said with an authoritative voice. It was quiet for a few moments before the gang burst into laughter. “Hahahah, what makes you think we would do that?” One of the members of the gang said. “We run this village and don’t you forget it”. Said another. “Then you will face the consequence. We are taking back our village.” Responded Mateo. Whistling, many villagers popped out surrounding the small gang. Every villager was equipped with slingshots with large stones in them. The gang were surprised but not concerned because they were unaware of the skills that Violet taught this rural village. When the gang didn’t concede. Mateo yelled fire! Without missing a heart beat the villagers let go of the leather pad and shot these large stones hurling toward the gang. They managed to knock over all the gang members of their horses. Scared, the horses ran away as fast as they could. The gang members were hurt but were able to stand. With anger they yelled if that was the best they got. Then the men and Violet came out of the huts that surrounded the gang. Being from a small village they were not big in stature. And as Violet was the only woman, she stuck out. She confronted the gang and spoke. “Surrender now and we will let you go unharmed. But you must promise to go and never come back.” They found it quite humorous. That a woman with a small group of men would threaten them. “We have never surrender nor will we ever.” One spoke. “Let’s go pretty girl” Another said. Not a second later the gang began to come after this small group. The fighting began. It was clear in the beginning that the small group of villagers had some training in combat. Still the gang were not going to give up with out a fight. But as the fight continued one by one, they fell. Until there was one, the leader of the gang Santiago was in on a one to one with Violet. Being skillful trained in many different types of martial arts. She was able to block and dodge all the hits. She then saw an opening as Santiago was getting fatigued. She grabbed him into a choke hold. And repeated “Surrender!” He choked out “Fine! I Surrender!” Every Villager cheered Hurrah! Slowly the gang members began to rise and run away as fast as possible. 

“Thank you so much Violet for liberating us from that gang. We are eternally grateful. If you need anything from us in the future. Please don’t hesitate.” Said Mateo “That’s so kind of you. I am happy I was able to help” She replied.