Sheila Greene is quite the social butterfly. She starts her morning in an aerobics class at the Hearth on James retirement community. Then, she grabs lunch, enjoys happy hour, and does some knitting.
“It fascinates people that we can knit without looking at it,” Greene explained.
All this, and she’s not flying solo. Her twin and roommate, Sharon Thompson, is right by her side through it all.
Nat sound: “It’s a long trip, and we’re just going to relax our knees down at our calves and roll up.”
Sheila Greene is quite the social butterfly. Starting her morning in an aerobics class at the Hearth on James retirement community. Then, she grabs lunch, enjoys happy hour, and does some knitting.
Sheila: “It fascinates people that we can knit without looking at it.”
All this, and she’s not flying solo. Her twin and roommate, Sharon Thompson, is right by her side through it all.
Sharon: “But, they remember that there’s a way to tell us apart. You got them on? Sheila wears earrings. And, I don’t.”
The twins only lived apart for 35 years when they were raising their families.
Sharon: “My husband always said we kept Ma Bell in business because we would just get done seeing each other, and we would go home and call each other. That was the telephone company, Ma Bell.”
Sharon and Sheila moved into the same apartment building in 2002, and they have been residence of this community for about a year and a half.
Sharon: “It would be almost perfect if the bedroom was a foot wider, but it’s not. So we have to deal with what we got.”
The twins do make room for A LOT of cat memorabilia…a house pet they have loved for a long time
Sharon: In 1952 or so, my parents went to get their first television. In the store where they went, there was a black cat roaming around. My mother said ‘well if you give me the black cat, I’ll buy the television. So they gave her the black cat.
STAND-UP: Now you may recognize Sharon and Sheila walking right here on James Street on a nice, sunny day. They told me that they even get stopped for photographs when they are together.
Sheila: “One time there was a Coca-Cola truck driver that was coming. He almost fell out of his truck by us. He was so surprised. He said ‘oh, there is two!”
And as you probably guessed, Sheila and Sharon said they definitely have twin telepathy…Lilia Wood, N-C-C News
“But, they remember that there’s a way to tell us apart,” Thompson said. “You got them on? Sheila wears earrings. And, I don’t.”
It’s National Siblings Day, and these Central New York identical twins truly embody what it means to support and love your built-in best friend. They only lived apart for 35 years when they were raising their families.
“My husband always said we kept Ma Bell in business because we would just get done seeing each other, and we would go home and call each other,” Thompson said. “That was the telephone company, Ma Bell.”
Thompson and Greene moved into the same apartment building in 2002, and they have been residence of this community for about a year and a half.
“It would be almost perfect if the bedroom was a foot wider, but it’s not,” Thompson said. “So we have to deal with what we got.”
The twins do make room for a lot of cat memorabilia, a house pet they have loved for a long time
“In 1952 or so, my parents went to get their first television,” Thompson said. “In the store where they went, there was a black cat roaming around. My mother said ‘well, if you give me the black cat, I’ll buy the television.’ So they gave her the black cat.”
The twins have been stopped for photographs when they are together wearing their matching outfits.
“One time there was a Coca-Cola truck driver that was coming,” Greene said as she was laughing. “He almost fell out of his truck by us. He was so surprised. He said ‘oh, there is two!’”
