Life as Identical Twins: Truth and Fiction

By Roy L. Williams

Birmingham, Ala. - Today, Wednesday, November 13, 2024, is the 60th birthday of me and my identical twin brother, Troy Williams. It is a sentimental birthday we are grateful for as we lost our oldest brother, Army Major Dwayne Williams, at age 40 when he was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

    From late September through October 2024, my wife Patrice and I spent two weeks touring Europe with Troy and his family. Troy spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and has remained there working as a civilian the past decade or so at various U.S. bases in his wife's home country of Belgium and now currently in the Netherlands.

   It was exciting reconnecting with my identical twin, as we hadn't seen each other in 11 years since our dad Horace died. My wife and I were amazed at - despite over a decade apart- we have striking similarities in our personalities (we talk alike and have similar interests) and appearance (we both grew silver fox beards a year ago honoring our late bearded father).

   It brought out the former reporter in me (I was a newspaper journalist for 25 years) and led me to research fact and fiction about identical twins. As I found out in this article "The Lives and Relationships of Twins" by Psychology Today staff, at the core of many people’s fascination with identical twins is the belief that their minds are as similar as are their bodies.

   During our two-week European journey, Troy and I found there is some truth in this line of thinking. Our long white beards now have us looking alike again at age 60 - though not as identical as when we were kids, high school students and young adults.

    After 11 years apart, we have similar physiques - tall and thin bald men: I am 6 feet, 195 pounds, Troy is a half-inch shorter and about 185 pounds. With our long white beards, we now call each other the Silver Fox Williams twins. While in college, Troy and I were both tall and thin - about 6 feet, 150 pounds - so we have gained weight at the same time over the past few decades.

   Troy and I still have deep voices and speak similar. We have both gone from being shy, quiet teens to fast-talking, outgoing adults- though I talk slower than Troy as I had to during my 25-year career as a newspaper journalist.

We have similar interests - we both love posting on Facebook and following our beloved Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

Here are some truths and fiction about identical twins:

*TRUTH: Twins have a unique bond

My brother Troy and I are living examples of the special bond between twins. Even though we have lived oceans apart for over 30 years (Troy in Europe working for the military and me in the South as a reporter/PR), we are constantly thinking of each other - and sharing special moments in our lives. Learn more about this topic in this book available at BPL, Twin Stories: Their Mysterious and Unique Bond.

 *TRUTH: Mothers of identical twins live longer:

According to Science Daily, a 2011 study by the University of Utah, "Twinning is Winning," found that women who conceive identical twins have a lower risk of dying after age 50 than those who gave birth to one baby at a time. My mother, Pearl Williams, turns 83 in March 2025 while my dad died 11 year ago at age 78.

* FALSE: Identical twins have ESP:

One myth I can expose now: there is no demonstrable evidence that twins can communicate telepathically or sense events in each other’s lives. From growing up together to living oceans apart in adulthood, Troy and I have never experienced knowing exactly what was going on in the other twins lives.

*FALSE: Identical twins have identical DNA:

   Another falsehood, the belief that identical twins have identical DNA. Although identical twin DNA is about 99.99 percent the same, there are some slight differences as revealed in this article. For instance, I have a black mole on my left hand. Troy does not. That is how my parents could tell us apart as toddlers and how many friends identified who was who in high school and college.

    Also, contrary to many believes, identical twins do not have the same fingerprints. According to this article, fingerprints are created while the eggs are inside the mother's womb and vary based on contact with the amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord.

*TRUTH: With identical twins, it is the environment that causes similarities and differences, not the DNA.

   For instance, my identical twin Troy has rarely been to the hospital while I have been a lot - from back surgery to kidney stones to choking episodes caused by acid reflux, an issue he doesn't have. I am on four high blood pressure medicines vs. Troy on one. I believe my high blood pressure and acid reflux problems are caused by the fatty fried foods I have eaten living in the deep South my entire life s while Troy has lived in Europe most of the past 30 years, avoiding Southern foods.

One dilemma I hear a lot about parents with identical twins is: Should you dress them alike?

     As someone who loved dressing alike with my identical twin Troy as a child, I say leave it up to them once they get old enough. Troy and I dressed the same throughout elementary school and into our early high school years. We loved fooling people - and even switched classes a few times in high school and college (note: We did not take each other's tests lol)

    But as we got late into our high school years and entered college, we developed our own personalities and chose not to dress alike. We did occasionally dress the same to see if we could still fool people.

 During our two-week vacation in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands this fall, Troy and I did dress the same - and got a kick out of how even as we approach age 60, we could still fool people.

A running joke was that Troy and I would take turns telling people we were identical twins - and we got looks like duh, of course. My wife Patrice says she got tired of hearing us telling folks we were identical. Still, it was a great way for Troy and I to reconnect after 11 years apart and relive our glorious younger days enjoying the blessing of being identical twins.

In a few months, Troy and I will try to fool people here in America. Troy is visiting me here in Birmingham in March 2025 as we gather to celebrate our mother Pearl's 83rd birthday.

So don't be surprised if you see two bald, silver bearded Black men dressed alike at a few places across Alabama next spring. It may be the Silver Fox identical twins Roy and Troy Williams up to their identical twin shenanigans again.

To learn more about the Silver Fox Twins, contact Roy Williams at email roywillwrite@gmail.com or cell (205) 572-1359. You can follow the adventures of the Silver Fox Twins soon on their new website, www.twinperspectivestoday.com.

Below are more photos of identical twins Roy and Troy Williams, from childhood to 60-year-old Silver Fox identical twins.