People That Aren't People But Are Still Real

In my life there are people that aren’t real, but are still real. They have been created through a series of chance circumstances in my psyche and the psyches of others. And they become real. And I talk about them as if they are real. Is that weird?

A great example is Phil. You may have read some of Phil’s stories, columns or emails. He is a fictional character originally created by my brother Joel, but in later years taken over by me. His primary occupation used to be a email newsletter he called the “Periodical Newsletter of Fellow Fellows,” or PLoFF. He then proceeded to write a fantasy novel, articles for the GG, and is now the GG movie critic with his column “Movie Reviews from the Phil Philes.” He has his own personality, life story, quirks, and problems. He is very confident, naïve, impulsive, and oblivious to social norms and cues. He is also terrible at grammar and spelling. When I refer to Phil, I refer to him in the third person, because in my mind he is a completely different person than Joel or me.

More examples are my stuffed cats Martin and Morton. Martin was given to me for Christmas in 8th grade is a part of the Great Gardner Kitty Kitty Kitten Invasion of 1996. Despite being growing, tough teenagers, Joel and I created very involved characters for our cats (his is named Caroo). They are both slightly dim (Martin more than Caroo), conceited, impatient with humans, and also terrible at grammar as well as counting. Martin got so worn out that I had to get an identical one named Morton many years later. You would think Morton would take on the same personality as Martin, but he is different for some reason. He is more patient, smart, and reserved that Martin or Caroo.

Again, is that weird?