GOOD MORNING HONEY WHO ARE WE TODAY

an exploration of selves with an excess of photographic evidence

It never occurred to me that I might have more than one self. I figured I had some base-model identity, without even so much as power windows, and that jalopy just skidded around getting away with pretending to be various, and more compelling, makes and models. I thought the chassis of this thing lacked integrity and therefore quality; that as far as materials go, all mine could really be said to feature of interest was some decent-tasking teriyaki goo that dripped into the cupholder one time.

My husband once greeted me with “Good morning, honey, who are we today?,” which made me understand, all at once, that my penchant for putting on accents is perhaps more of a feature than a bug.

I contain, for example, a lecherous Scotsman, a southern 1950s housewife, a Cockney servant, a West coast surfer boi, an evangelical preacher, an uptalking millennial, and a disturbed parrot, among others.

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What is it to pretend?