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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL marytb@leader.net
Monday, March 03, 2003 Page: 3A
FORTY FORT – Twin sisters Michele Simonetti and Jennifer Wolpert turn 33
today. As all you numbers folks immediately realize, the date of their big day
is 03-03-03.
And if this convergence of day and month and year and anniversary of
multiple birth seems remarkable, imagine how mystical it would seem if they
had been triplets – and how that would have intensified the rivalry of the
growing up years.
“We put a piece of tape down the middle of our room,” Simonetti, of Forty
Fort, admitted last week with a chuckle. “Her side was very neat and mine was
sloppy.
“We hung around with different crowds, and if I was going to a movie, my
sister was going to the swimming pool. She was into studying, she wanted her
A’s, and I was more rebellious. I skipped school. I was truant.”
Then came field day events at school.
“We were both very athletic and we both really wanted to win. If it was a
burlap-bag race or a 50-yard dash, she would come in first and I would come in
second,” Simonetti said.
And, at the dinner table: “We ignored each other. We tried to keep out of
each other’s way as much as possible.”
Then, over the years, Simonetti said, something beautiful happened. As the
sisters matured, they began to appreciate each other.
“I realized the importance of family unity,” she said. “Now we’re like
best friends.”
They’re still different.
“I love large crowds and I love to deal with the public,” said Simonetti,
who works in marketing and promotions. “My sister is more laid back,
quieter.”
But, nowadays, visits and telephone calls are frequent between Simonetti,
who has lived in the Wyoming Valley for 12 years, and Wolpert, who lives
closer to where the twins grew up, in the Lancaster area.
Wolpert planned to visit her sister this past weekend, but the threat of
bad weather postponed the trip.
That left Simonetti alone to sift through old photos and memories of two
little girls who looked the same and, until they were 8 years old, dressed the
same and who were so intent on being individuals that they didn’t really get
to know each other.
“We didn’t like to share,” Simonetti said ruefully.
In retrospect, she wishes she and her sister would have become friends
sooner.
“We missed out on good years together.”