New York Times science section today has an article on "secret lives."  Turns out lots of people do, and that having a secret life may be a normal coping mechanism or the result of an upbringing that quashed some normal desires.  Then again, they do cite the extreme examples of the guys with two completely different families in different cities.

I hope they do a sequel on the wives of those guys and explain why they don't catch on.  Sneaking off with your sweetie from time to time is one thing; a technicolor, IMAX secret family is another.

how many people outside of your secret life know about it? me? just one person.

however I do find it in my best interest to keep this hobby away from my wife!!!

you didn't hear it from me  

I was waiting for the whole 12-step, "you're as sick as your secrets" thing to emerge in the article. It never did. Paranoia did not even get an honorable mention. No personality disorders, nor any other pathologies. Something was there about how 15% of the population make great secret-keepers.

Secrets were discussed in terms of internet anonymity and separate lives. Nothing so innocuous as just keeping a personal secret for a close friend, which still could address the central theme of healthy secret-keeping. Article most notable for what is not said.

I came away proud to be a pig. Long live the hobby!

This is most interesting article which both ladies and gents are likely to find informative.

Find your secret life flooding your consciousness?  You are not alone.

I came away thinking that a secret life may be healthy, especially if it is something like the hobby which need not overwhelm or even necessarily interfere with ones day-to-day responsibilities.  However, some introspection about what one is doing is also a good thing.

You can get an account with the NYT to read the internet edition for free.

morally wrong in your secret life - that is unhealthy.

I don't actually have a secret life, but I do have a secret identity.
I am the Accidental Avenger.
I thwart evil and protect the innocent, but completely by accident.
Oh, and I do on occassion thwart the innocent and protect the evil....but that really is an accident, and I am sure that is of great comfort to the families of the innocents that I have inadvertantly thwarted.

My secret lair is a cave where I wait for the opportunity to literally stumble upon evil and do something stupid and awkward to thwart it. In my spare time I play "Peter Gunn" very badly on an untuned bass guitar, and while away the hours with my sidekick "Rene, the Sociopathic Snail" his slime trail is acidic and he has filed his shell into a sharp point that can be used to cause little puncture wounds, though he can be easily defeated with salt or some sort of footwear, he is still a menacing sidekick.

But wait....I have said too much.....ummmmmm....
just kidding.
I have no secret identity.
There is no cave.
There is no pointy snail.
I don't even know what a bass guitar is....I play the Pan Flute.
Ummm.....yep....nevermind.

...humming the theme from Batman (the Movie) as your garage door opens.