Why Ingrid?

Some of you may have noticed that I have a something of an obsession with Ingrid Bergman.  Here is the story.

It started as a schoolgirl crush on Humphrey Bogart.  This may be hard for you all to picture, but I was a peculiar teenager.  My celebrity crushes in my junior high/high school years included Basil Rathbone, José Greco, and Donovan.  All names that would draw blank stares from my peers.  It was the early 1980's, after all.

And there was Humphrey Bogart.  Not any Bogart, but the character Rick from "Casablanca".  With that movie it was love at first viewing.  I had the movie poster on the wall of my bedroom.

One day I was staring into my mirror, a thing that teenaged girls are wont to do.  Knowing me I was probably lip-synching to the Beatles or some such thing since I apparently lack the hair/make-up gene.  But while staring at the mirror I noticed the reflection of the movie poster.  I could see my face, and Humphrey's, and Ingrid's...

I stared at Ingrid Bergman.

Familiar looking eyebrows... similar nose...

Was there a resemblance?  I almost hated to think it.  One does not normally go around thinking she looks like one of the most beautiful women in the world.

I mentioned that I was a peculiar teenager.  Did I mention that I was miserable as well?  That is another thing teenaged girls are prone to.  I probably thought that I was fat.  I had some close friends, but wasn't what I'd call popular.  Boys certainly didn't notice me.  I often felt like I didn't fit in.  You know.  Normal teen girl stuff.

I also had an issue with school.  Math.  Any kind of arithmetic.  That all started to go wrong with me around the 5th grade while I was learning to divide fractions, and it continues to this day.  I'll be going along, doing my little calculations, getting it all figured out when suddenly my brain says, "Wait a minute.  What?"  Then it all goes blank and I need the whole operation explained to me again.

The problem was that I was the youngest of 6 kids growing up in a small town, so all my teachers had also taught my siblings.  And it just so happened that my next oldest sister is something of a math prodigy.  I mean really gifted.  Then I come along and I'm stumbling with the basics.  Teachers didn't really know what to think.  There was a certain amount of "I don't think she's really applying herself" and "What's the matter with you?"

By high school I'd largely given up.  I somehow made it through 9th grade algebra.  I don't remember how and I certainly don't remember algebra.  The last hurdle to being finished with high school math forever was passing geometry.

My geometry teacher had, of course, taught my sister just a few years before.  When he was working problems out on the blackboard she would point out his errors, and probably worked way ahead of the class.  I think his attitude toward me leaned towards the "What's the matter with you?" camp.  In retrospect, I can see that I must have been an amazingly frustrating student.  Like I said before, I had given up in math and would sometimes sit in the back of the class reading a book.  I can remember taking a test one time and being unable to answer most of the questions.  But for some reason I managed to complete one of the extra credit problems.  I hated the class and I'm sure he didn't know what to do with me.

So one morning I'm walking down the hall in full-on melancholy teen mode.  I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised if there was an actual visible rain cloud over my head.  I was just schlumping along when I passed my geometry teacher.  We gave each other perfunctory nods when he stops and turns and says "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a young Ingrid Bergman?"

WHAT?!?

My spirit instantly sprouted wings and I soared down the hallway, and I remained in that state for the rest of the day.  It wasn't just in my head!  I LOOKED LIKE A YOUNG INGRID BERGMAN!!  And it certainly wasn't coming from someone who was out to flatter me, believe you me.  And I can't think of any way he would have known about my fanatic love for "Casablanca".

I'd like to say that it changed my life.  That I went back to geometry class, paid attention, and aced it.  Truth be told I have no idea how I ever passed geometry and I have no idea how to perform most geometric calculations.  My miserable math skills followed me to college.

But that's OK.  I look like Ingrid Bergman.

And how are you?