What Are Your Superpowers?
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We all have some.
Three weeks away from 70, I feel it is time for me to name and claim my superpowers. I would like to be remembered as something more than an artist wannabe who manages to get paint everywhere. So, I thought I’d make a list of favorites.
Great Penmanship
Here’s one that will doubtless stand the test of time. I liked writing long before I could actually make letters. Once I got to kindergarten and they handed out that paper with solid and dotted lines to help us form capital and lower-case letters without having them avalanche off the page, I thought life would be great forever.
I loved printing practice, cursive practice, pencil practice, and the glorious day when we were allowed to copy our pencil work in ballpoint pen. Ah, the Palmer Method! The cardboard alphabet and perfect digits like a wallpaper border in every classroom!
In fifth grade, in honor of Anne Frank (who preferred a thick nib although I do not), I bought myself a fountain pen at the 5&10. Among other things, a fountain pen will slow your hand down and give you time to perfect your writing. Back in the day it also made the nuns happy, a rare delight.
In high school I adored the penmanship of my BFF, and copied her as best I could. (Funnily enough, last week she texted she was copying me!) I also copied my elder sister’s flamboyant swirls, which made the nuns unhappy but at that age I couldn’t have cared less. Artiste!
It came to pass that I entered an occupation that involved making progress notes in peoples’ charts. Because many people document things in charts, my handwriting was noticed. One psychiatrist claimed my penmanship was diagnosable; someone else said my penmanship probably helped with the hospital’s accreditation process.
Talk about a lost art.
I Have An Inner Kitchen Timer
Nothing elaborate to say about this one: I just manage somehow to enter the kitchen just as the timer is going off. Maybe this is owed to over 50 years of cooking; I’d rather believe it’s genius.
Finding Stuff
Here, I absolutely shine. My skills were honed in my 15 years with the philosopher, who couldn’t find his ass with both hands…
