The original Jamie Ray thought about how strange it was e-mailing some of the other Jamie Rays of the world thru the internet. There was after all a virtual legion of individuals out there given the same name he was born with. A battalion of Jamie Rays that were doctors and a squadron of Jamie Rays that were burger flippers. Jamie Rays of all shapes and sizes. Black Jamie Rays, White Jamie Rays. Male Jamie Ray's, female Jamie Ray's. Jamie Ray himself just felt an inexplicable need to shine on people who shared his own name. It was his response to a mystical urge he couldn't quite nail down--couldn't quite explain. He thought this quasi-obsession maybe stemmed abstractly somehow from never knowing his true name as he was adopted shortly after his birth.
Jamie Ray saw irony in his strange compulsion to connect. He had gone his whole life without meeting someone with his own full name and now with the net... All of a sudden he was in contact with 20 name clones. He formed a "Jamie Ray" chatroom where there was much initial confusion as to who was who. They finally decided to include short bits of biographical information in their e-mail monikers to clear up identity questions. The original Jamie Ray needed a unique handle to go by. Rain clouds disappated outside letting light break through. It dawned on him to call himself "The Original Jamie Ray". That was his new moniker and others in the chat room took note. Quickly other Jamie Ray's had e-mail nicknames of their own. After that dilemma had been sorted out the group began to gel.
"Well why don't we start by everybody telling us a little about themselves. Since I'm the original maybe it would be appropriate for me to go first. The others sent :)'s of approval.
"Well I was born in Oxnard, California, on October 19th, 1967,' the original began. -- but was put up for adoption at 1. In 1968 my family moved me here to Burlington, Vermont and I have been here ever since. The rest of the name game group spit out the same seemingly mundane biographical info. After that they exchanged thoughts freely. They shared with each other the play on words and the little puns they all had had to endure over their lives because of that one and the same name. Soon the conversation went off on unanticipated tangents. They even came up with some original if not far fetched ideas as to how they might use their unique gathering to their advantage.
" What if everyone in here,' Adopted Oriental Jamie Ray theorized, 'swapped out their personal credit information with one another. All of our recorded information stacked together like a deck of well shuffled cards.
Then, speaking of cards, we'd go apply for a couple hundred credit cards with each others information. For every blank on the application we would fill in one new "Jamies" info.'"
The snafu would eventually show up with the credit card companies but the names would seemingly be correct, some of them theorized.
"We could always say we gave them the correct info and their own computer system got mixed up on the names and switched the info around. The so-called "Carbon Copies" aren't much good without the carbon or the copy." Said "5"2 Jamie Ray from Branson,Missouri."
The group had a hearty laugh at this.
"Maybe we could cover a lot more combinations for lotto and split the prize at the end." said "6"5 300 pound Black Jesse Ray from San Diego California."
"The lotto doesn't rely on names silly." replied "Petite Red-Headed Housewife Jamie Ray of Sioux Falls, Iowa. Her long lashes batted together thoughtfully as she looked into the monitor over the keyboard she typed on.
"I do have one question for the 'Original Jamie Ray'?" queried "Solemn Woman Jamie Ray of California.' I want you to close your eyes and think real hard for a minute. What do you see?
"What?" "Original Jamie Ray" asked quizzically.
"Sounds like we got ourselves here a real mystic." said "Redneck Jamie Ray from Belle Glade Florida".
"I think I can clear up something you have been wondering about for a long time Jamie. What do you see?" "Solemn" asked again
"A chill ran down the Original's back as his eyelids sealed seamlessly tight. I see the picture of a girl with a tear streaming down her cheek." the original Jamie typed in quickly.
"How did you come about the name Jamie?" Solemn asked.
Well my stepmother named me that because after they first took me home-- the first words I spoke were when I tried to ask for my new pajamas. A crazy thought entered the "Originals" mind.
"Are you my real mother?...." the Original asked, his fingers shook as he hen pecked at the keys.
"No,' Solemn said with a long pause. 'She might be... Listen, I want to send a picture through. Tell me if this person looks familiar." Solemn wrote.
The "upload" bar graph grew full of solid blue color on the "Original Jamie Ray's" monitor. He decompressed the file and a picture appeared. He was astonished at what he saw. It was same image of the girl that had appeared in his mind seconds earlier-- minus the tear. The girls hairstyle dated the picture as being from some long time before. Late 80's he guessed.
I had a feeling I should come to this site about a week ago. I had a moment of clarity. A sneaking suspicion. I was almost certain after you said you were a Libra born on October 19th... I did a little research here in town today. I live out here in Oxnard you know. I was down at Overlook. Does that name ring a bell with you. "Solemn" asked. The letters to her words appeared on his screen more slowly--hesitatingly.
These exchanges move at the speed of light "Original" thought fleetingly.
"Why yes!,' he replied shocked. "thats the name of the home I was adopted from. Its a foster home. Who are you?!!?!! Jamie could no longer contain his curiousity. He leapt to his feet.
"Are your eyes different colors. You know like one brown and one green." Solemn asked pensively.
"Now this is too much. Whose playing this joke on me? Do I know you from around here in Burlington. The Original Jamie dimmed down the brightness of the computer for a second leaving the screen black. He looked closely at the differing pigments in the irises of his two anxious eyes in the dark reflection of his monitor. He readjusted it back to the white screen.
"I think we might have somethings in common,' her words read 'You ought to know though that your not really the original Jamie Ray after all.' "Solemn Jamie Ray" went on.
"You see, I was born 18 seconds before you Jamie-- on October 19th, 1967. My parents named me Debby but changed it to Jamie after the first words out of my mouth were the cute way they said I asked for my pajamas when I was 6 months old. I'm your identical twin sister Jamie and I have been missing you all these years."
Bio: "I live in Naples Florida. My Favorite things are writing, weightlifting and running. I am 33 and was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. I graduated from Barron Collier High School. I received an A.A in Journalism from Hillsborough Community College. I Received my B.A in English from the University of South Florida in 1999."
E-mail: Democraft1967@aol.com
URL: http://hometown.aol.com/democrat1967/myhomepage/resume.html
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