We have all some experience of a feeling, that comes over us occasionally, of what we are saying and doing having been said and done before, in a remote time - of our having been surrounded, dim ages ago, by the same faces, objects, and circumstances - of our knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly remember it. Charles Dickens wrote that, a very long time ago, in his classic book David Copperfield, a young man living in classic Victorian England. But this was Tucson, circa now, and the same truths held then for the French phrase, déjà vu, were still as strong as ever. Maybe even stronger.
It all started on Tuesday, while I was at work. A customer had just left Mike's Coffee Shop and crossed the lobby of the Frontier building to the flower shop, where she commented on the lovely aroma the flowers gave. Immeadiately, something in my mind clicked and for the next three minutes I was living a very weird, very real, déjà vu moment, it could only be described as déjà vécu. Everything that was said and done, I had seen and heard previously from somewhere else, not so very long ago. As if my history were repeating itself. And like any good déjà vu, I immeadiately shared it with all around me, but didnt give it a second thought.
The next day, my sense of déjà vu was even stronger, when I saw my old friend, Chloe. We ran into each other on the corner of Stone and Pennington, while I was heading off to school, and she was heading off to work. As we laughed, and caught up for the next few minutes, I realized I had had a similar conversation with Chloe, and was struck with another déjà vu moment.
ME: Déjà vu...
CHLOE: Well, call me, ok?
ME: I will.
CHLOE: Here, let me give you my number.
ME: Oh, I already have it. Three-oh-eight...something, right?
CHLOE: How did you know?
ME: I think you already gave it to me.
CHLOE: David, that's my new number. I just got it last week.
I couldnt believe it. Was Chloe serious? Or was she playing some sort of cruel joke on me? How in the world would I know the first three digits of her new number. Unless it was magic. But then again, magic isnt really real...right? At least that's what I used to think. At one time or another we all believe in the possibility of magic. That somewhere out there it exists, waiting to be discovered by us and to be used whenever we need help. But I wasnt in need of help...was I?
The only thing I could possibly think of that I needed help in, was my psychology test. Being a talented procrastinator, I had managed to put off three weeks of studying up until the day, or rather, hours of my first test. But trying to memorize psychology terms and the history of the practice was as useless as trying to finish an episode of Laguna Beach: Season Three, without wanting to strangle half the cast. And so it was with a furiously heavy heart that I entered the testing lab to take my psychology test. But I would surive. I was young and us young people have a way of rolling with the punches.
But surviving my dreaded test, I needed not. As I sat in the flourescent-lit room feeling all low, I realized I had seen this plastic, paper-protected test once before, in the same testing room, not so very long ago. And I had seen this multiple choice answer sheet once before too. Only, when I saw it, it was already filled out with a big purple A on top. It was a déjà vu so extreme, I knew I couldnt ignore my nagging gut feeling no more. I quickly penciled in the empty circles with my number two and finished the test within a mere seven minutes. It was a personal test taking record and I knew it could go two ways: I could turn it in and fail miserably, forcing me to grovel at my teacher's feet for a second test re-do, or I could turn it in and question this whole déjà vu thing later.
Five minutes later, after my test was graded, I got my answer...it was a big purple A. This wasn't a coincidence. This was just plain weird. And I wonder...how long does déjà vu last and how does it all work?
It all started on Tuesday, while I was at work. A customer had just left Mike's Coffee Shop and crossed the lobby of the Frontier building to the flower shop, where she commented on the lovely aroma the flowers gave. Immeadiately, something in my mind clicked and for the next three minutes I was living a very weird, very real, déjà vu moment, it could only be described as déjà vécu. Everything that was said and done, I had seen and heard previously from somewhere else, not so very long ago. As if my history were repeating itself. And like any good déjà vu, I immeadiately shared it with all around me, but didnt give it a second thought.
The next day, my sense of déjà vu was even stronger, when I saw my old friend, Chloe. We ran into each other on the corner of Stone and Pennington, while I was heading off to school, and she was heading off to work. As we laughed, and caught up for the next few minutes, I realized I had had a similar conversation with Chloe, and was struck with another déjà vu moment.
ME: Déjà vu...
CHLOE: Well, call me, ok?
ME: I will.
CHLOE: Here, let me give you my number.
ME: Oh, I already have it. Three-oh-eight...something, right?
CHLOE: How did you know?
ME: I think you already gave it to me.
CHLOE: David, that's my new number. I just got it last week.
I couldnt believe it. Was Chloe serious? Or was she playing some sort of cruel joke on me? How in the world would I know the first three digits of her new number. Unless it was magic. But then again, magic isnt really real...right? At least that's what I used to think. At one time or another we all believe in the possibility of magic. That somewhere out there it exists, waiting to be discovered by us and to be used whenever we need help. But I wasnt in need of help...was I?
The only thing I could possibly think of that I needed help in, was my psychology test. Being a talented procrastinator, I had managed to put off three weeks of studying up until the day, or rather, hours of my first test. But trying to memorize psychology terms and the history of the practice was as useless as trying to finish an episode of Laguna Beach: Season Three, without wanting to strangle half the cast. And so it was with a furiously heavy heart that I entered the testing lab to take my psychology test. But I would surive. I was young and us young people have a way of rolling with the punches.
But surviving my dreaded test, I needed not. As I sat in the flourescent-lit room feeling all low, I realized I had seen this plastic, paper-protected test once before, in the same testing room, not so very long ago. And I had seen this multiple choice answer sheet once before too. Only, when I saw it, it was already filled out with a big purple A on top. It was a déjà vu so extreme, I knew I couldnt ignore my nagging gut feeling no more. I quickly penciled in the empty circles with my number two and finished the test within a mere seven minutes. It was a personal test taking record and I knew it could go two ways: I could turn it in and fail miserably, forcing me to grovel at my teacher's feet for a second test re-do, or I could turn it in and question this whole déjà vu thing later.
Five minutes later, after my test was graded, I got my answer...it was a big purple A. This wasn't a coincidence. This was just plain weird. And I wonder...how long does déjà vu last and how does it all work?
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