Monday, January 13, 2020

Revealing our secret SUPERpowers

HALLIE EPHRON: My 6-year-old granddaughter has a superpower. She can whistle. Not the hail-a-cab whistle, but whistle-a-tune whistle. My husband’s superpower is that he can play his head. His head is particularly resonant, though his repertoire is pretty much limited to Turkey in the Straw.

I cannot play my head or whistle, but I can make pie crust. I’m pretty good at speedy
vegetable chopping  and card shuffling, too. After watching the Ken Burns program about country music, I wished I could yodel. And this holiday I wished I had turkey-carving in my quiver. Instead I make a hash of it.

What are your superpowers, and are there any you wish you had?


LUCY BURDETTE: Making cakes from scratch I think is my superpower. My yellow cake
with caramel frosting reigns supreme, though I have a few chocolate cakes in my repertoire that cause swooning. When the grandkids and nephews arrive in February for a visit, I’m thinking of trying a sprinkle cake--colored sprinkles all the way through and in the icing.

And planning and organizing trips. I’m really happy with the travel experiences we’ve had over the last years. Hopefully many more to come! And buying books, more than I can read. I’m very, very good at that!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I can’t whistle, I can’t snap my fingers, and I can’t blow bubbles, so I
definitely need some kind of superpower! I’m not much of a baker, either, sigh. But I can make a mean soup, and a perfectly proper pot of tea. I’m also really good at finding my way around London, and at giving travel tips to other Anglophiles!

RHYS BOWEN: I’m a useless baker, never learned to whistle through my fingers but I used to ride a mean boogie board ( so well that two teenagers once asked me for instructions). I
also can remember the words to every song I’ve sung.

JENN McKINLAY: I can whistle, can’t play my head, I can boogie board, shuffle cards, and I do love to bake. I’m not extraordinarily good at these things but competent.

I think my greatest superpower is that I’m ridiculously handy. All by myself -- although sometimes with the hooligans if I am teaching them something -- I’ve painted every room in this house, built a screened in porch, built a brick patio, built a swing set/fort, changed all of the locks,
ripped up all the carpet, tiled two floors and put wood in three others, put in all new faucets, and refinished all of the kitchen cabinets. I’m having professionals do the heavy stuff - new counters and appliances for the kitchen. But then, I’m looking to remodel my laundry room all by myself. Can’t wait. I love this stuff!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: No whistling, no matter how hard I try. I can roll my tongue and pump it up, but that doesn’t get me very far. I’m pretty ambidextrous, so I can play tennis with both hands, meaning I have two forehands. It is very confusing to my opponent. I can make a pretty good dinner out of whatever is in the refrigerator, those one time only recipes that you can never duplicate. I can also sing songs
using only the first letters of the words—oscys! Would be “ oh say can you see.” And I can do that really fast, almost without thinking.

And me too, Rhys. I know words to every song. Sadly, I fear that may be taking up too much work room in my brain.

Oh! My other superpower is that I can find lost stuff— even things someone else lost. it’s very bizarre.




JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'm beginning to think my superpower is giving sensible life advice to millennials, since it's something I seem to be doing a LOT of lately. My other superpowers? I can tell if you have a fever - and roughly what degree it is-by touching your forehead. Also, all dogs love me. I mean, even ones I'm pretty much ignoring. I can make a great fire in a wood stove with newspaper, six small sticks and a couple of split logs. 

My kids think my superpower is the ability to talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything. This is an hereditary superpower, since my mother was able to do the same thing. Maybe I should try to combine my strengths by becoming a traveling dog-walker/nurses aide who brightens shut-ins lives with hours of conversation?

HALLIE: This is reminding me of a superpower my daughters had. They could talk backwards. Naomi's name was I-Mo-Ane. Molly was Why-Lom. They could converse like that. Weird.

So what are your superpowers? Can you fold fitted sheets? Salsa dance? Juggle? Run marathons?? Say the alphabet backwards???

91 comments:

  1. Yes to baking, folding fitted sheets, and whistling well enough to get the dogs to come back into the house. But I think my real superpowers are organizing events, from concerts to traveling health fairs, and seeing the beauty in horrible, mangy, shut-down, shy, or otherwise unsocialized dogs and cats. I've enjoyed the company of some remarkable dogs and cats because of this. I wouldn't have missed those opportunities for the world.

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  3. Well, like Lucy, I’m quite good at making cakes and buying books, but my superpower is rading upside down, a skill that used to amaze my first graders . . . .

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    1. I just tried to do this and I can confidently report, I cannot read upside down.

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    2. That's cool, Joan! Back when I was a reporter, I got a scoop or two from reading stuff on an official's desk like that.

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    3. Hallie, the whole purpose of reading the books upside down was so that the children could see the pictures while I read the story instead of waiting for me to finish reading a page and then turn the book to show them the pictures. It's easiest with picture books because the print tends to be bigger, but once you have it down, you can read anything that way [as Gigi can attest!] . . . .

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  4. My superpower is the ability to make a full dinner out of three ingredients, any three ingredients. Gigi and I share the superpower of seeing beauty in the forgotten animals - my last feral cat is on my lap as I type this. And I'm a class A scuba diver - but I'm not sure if that's a superpower or a superskill.

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    1. Scuba diving? Surrounded by creatures in water that would a super power for me.

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  5. I'm both jealous of all you ladies...and I'm feeling inadequate at the same time. I can't whistle, no matter how hard I try. I'm not a great baker. I'm super jealous of Jenn as I WISH I was handy. I am pretty good at finding lost stuff, like Hank. I guess my super power is knowing which keywords to type into a Google search to find exactly what I want. It makes my husband crazy that he'll try to find something online for an hour, and then I open my laptop and clickety click up the precise website he was searching for in under 30 seconds.

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    1. This just happened to me, too - husband complained that he couldn't find the jeans he's been buying for the last 30 years (Wrangler)... and I found it in thirty seconds. I think it's related to the shopping gene. He can't shop for sh-t.

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    2. Annette, in this day and age, being able to compose an effective search IS a superpower!

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  6. I love these! I can make superb apple pies and sourdough bread, and I can find things, particularly on low shelves. I can walk fast, which amazes people with (much) longer legs. And whistle, but not between my fingers, and rewire lamps. And I'm pretty good at figuring out what language someone is speaking, or at least the language family.

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  7. Love hearing about all your superpowers! Julia, you could make a mint with your traveling/dog-walking/chatting for shut-ins idea. I will hire you in an instant when the time comes...

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    1. Like Julia I talk to people everywhere and it used to mortify my children. Especially useful when you've been alone at the keyboard for hours and even a few moments of human connection clears the fog.

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    2. Youngest used to melt with embarrassment when I would get into conversations with people in the elevator, in line at the grocer's, etc. Now that she's in a sorority and volunteering in politics, she's grateful to have learned by example! #SmugMom

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  8. Great photos, Hallie! That’s another superpower for you!

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  9. I'm a dog whisperer, flower photographer, and make a mean pot roast. After fifteen years in Atlanta, I can chat amicably with strangers for hours about nothing and everything except my extended family or "kin."

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  10. What a fun topic! I can't whistle, not much of a baker, definitely not handy. But I am a pretty good cook, both with and without a recipe. I seem to be pretty good at talking people back from the edge of panic attacks or hysteria or general overreaction. And while I'm only a good-enough singer overall, I get a lot of credit in my choir for having a knack for finding that elusive opening note of a harmony.

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    1. I used to sing. So much fun. And I'd have wanted to be standing next to you if you can find that first note.

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  11. I wish I could hail-a-cab whistle! Instead, my super power is finding lost items, making lists and being organized, and turning a cheese omelette into a yummy dinner on a weeknight.

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    1. Finding lost items is truly a gift. I just found a pair of black bathing suit bottoms that I've been missing for 3 years since a trip to Puerto Rico. Found them in my husband's bureau drawer.

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    2. Uh, does that worry you, Hallie? LOL...

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  12. Like Lucy, I'm good at planning travels. I read faster than anyone around me. Sometimes, I have to slowdown a little to enjoy more.
    My best superpower is my capacity at listening to people, give them my full attention.

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    1. I can relate... I'm good at skimming for content. But it's a habit to try to overcome when you're reading dramatic fiction.

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    2. Danielle, listening - really listening - is a GREAT gift to give others. It seems to be becoming more and more rare in a world where distraction is usually held right in our hand.

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    3. Listening is a gift that very few people possess! Fabulous!

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  13. I can fold a fitted sheet and read upside down and I used to be able to walk on my hands, but I don't dare even try that now as much as I would love to show off to my grandkids. I'm afraid I'd break something. Oh, I can wiggle my nose too.

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    1. Raising my eyebrows... and wishing I could do cartwheels.

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    2. Walk on your hands? That is a superpower

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  14. My second grade teacher had me read to the fifth grade class--upside down--from a perch on the teacher's desk. I can still remember being amazed that I could. How did SHE know? That might have been her superpower.

    I can tell within less than an ounce a pound of something (inherited from my dad, who was a butcher). Like Hank, I can create a darn good meal out of disparate fridge and pantry contents. And I wish tongue-tricks were worth something, because I can do all of them. Luckily, I'm handy, in ways my husband is not, but he is in ways I'm not. And I have a true green thumb, and can keep houseplants alive for decades, as well as growing flowers and veggies. And just bring your sheets over; I'll fold them for you.

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    1. I forgot to mention my green thumb! I have a houseplant that's a direct descendant of one I had in COLLEGE.

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    2. Count another green-ish thumb here. I've had plants still growing for decades. And my orchid is about to bloom again.

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    3. Someone gave me a croton in 1975. It is still alive, and massive. It outgrew my house so I donated it to the local Waldorf School, and I hear it is still thriving.

      Thirteen years ago I was given a small planter with five plants in it. I divided them, and have repotted several times. The spathe flower is HUGE now--four feet tall, and I've started another one. The Dracaena Marginata is also enormous, over five feet high, and the croton is four feet wide, both also from those tiny plants.

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    4. I’m so jealous of people who can make a meal out of thin air. I can’t do that but I can cook without measuring anything - I have an excellent eye for weight and volume.

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  15. I can bake a good pie - the secret is starting with a good crust. I can figure out tech gadgets given enough time.

    Folding a fitted sheet? I wish. That was my grandmother's superpower (among many). Perfect every time.

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    1. Tech gadgets!! What did we do before the Internet? At least now you can find the steps that worked for someone else.

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    2. With the right tools and a YouTube video, you can take over the world.

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  16. Jungle Reds, what a wonderful post about superpowers! I seem to have a knack for learning languages. I remember learning a different system of Sign Language and I find myself being able to translate the Deaf Sign Language (more like a foreign language) into the Signed Hearing Language, which is the American English language. Though my father claims that I could whistle before I lost my hearing, I know that I cannot whistle. LOL. When I was a kid, I thought my hearing loss was my superpower. It is funny how I saw my "disability" as a superpower. I also have a "lazy eye" if that is the correct term. I can "see" sideways with one eye instead of straight ahead.

    Yes, I can fold fitted sheets, I can dance :-) .

    Diana

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    1. This is SO BRILLIANT: "When I was a kid, I thought my hearing loss was my superpower." I am guessing that you had great parents. And I didn't know that there was more than one sign language. One of my best friends had deaf parents and she grew up signing... I love to watch her doing it.

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    2. Hallie, I noticed that when I met you at Bouchercon that you speak clearly. I could read your lips :-) . Did your friend grow up to become a Sign Language translator?

      Thank you for your kind compliment.

      Diana

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    3. I *think* I can dance, does that count? LOL!

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    5. Jenn, you do look like a dancer to me. I believe that anyone can dance, IMHO. Diana

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  17. I have two superpowers: parallel parking and dogs love me. Actually, many animals are attracted to me. My husband says it's like watching Disney movie.

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    1. Dogs love... parts of me. Which can be annoying.
      We just traded our 18-year-old Honda Civic in for a small SUV and I, who used to be a world's champion parker, feels as if I've lost the knack... even with the help of the backup camera.

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  18. You all forgot that your superpowers include writing amazing books. I have a fabulous evil laugh that was much requested when my daughter and her friends were young.

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    1. D'Oh!
      And an evil laugh! That sounds delightful!

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  19. I'm right handed but can write left handed upside down and backwards, not that it's ever gotten me anywhere. And I can say the alphabet backwards. I told my dad (93) that and now he can say it a,z,b,y,c,x,d,w,e,v..etc.

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    1. I write lefthanded but I do everything else with my right. But I canNOT write upside down and backwards! Now that's a superpower.

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  20. Superpowers. The list is pretty short before I've had coffee. Truth be told it's still short after I've had coffee. I do share Julia's ability to talk to people and I listen. I think the listening part is a super power. And, I would like to come sit at the feet of Jenn and learn how to do all those things. I love power tools!

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    1. Listening is definitely a super power. Combined with patience.

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  21. We have an amazing group of people here. I say we take over the world ( and restore it to sanity). Or start our own colony somewhere warm and beautiful ( Jenn will build the houses)

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    1. I actually want to start volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. They’re my people.

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  22. I can parallel park, fold a fitted sheet, and I used to be able to get four young children bathed, dressed, and ready to go out in something less than half the time the average man can dress himself, not including tying his tie.

    But that was then.

    I just demonstrated to my neighbor's lawyer/brother than I can remember all the dates of admissions and discharges (of my neighbor) in the past three months, the sentinel events surrounding each of the same, the medical reports give to me, the contents of each care planning meeting, and his current medications including actions and interactions.

    You can retire from practice, but you can't retire from nursing. That is my only super power.

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  23. The super power I wish I had was a sense of direction. I can’t find my way out of a paper bag, seriously. It’s ridiculous how lost I get! Argh.

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    1. I feel your pain, Jenn. I have to factor in an additional 15 minutes of travel time to any new destination so I can get lost and still get there on time.

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  24. Sense of direction is my superpower. I rarely get lost and can always find my way back to place if I've been there once. It has only failed me once that I can remember and the GPS on my phone was no help either that day. The guy at the gas station got us back on track.

    On the other hand, I can lose things faster than anyone I know. What's the opposite of a superpower?

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    1. Super FLAW? Oh gosh, don't get me started on those.

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  25. I can whistle a bit, and sing a bit, both handy for storytelling special effects. I have a "gift" for getting lost, which has led to unplanned adventure and making new friends "the kindness of strangers." Students and colleagues have remarked on kindnesses that helped them through tough days, which they returned in good measure. Storyteller Kristin Pedemonti says my super power is connecting people. <3

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  26. Ha. I just told my son my superpower is I can wake up already pissed off about something. He laughed. Actually having a sense of humor is a superpower. You can either laugh or cry. We used to tease my sister when she was on dialysis that it was always on trash day. Debs, we're sisters! I can't whistle or blow bubblegum bubbles either. I can snap my fingers though. A major superpower is that I have always been a reader so being banished to my room by Mom was no punishment. In fact she once complained that instead of being upset my older brother and I would very contentedly read. I also talk to strangers in line or shopping. But that's not a superpower here. That's just normal. I can get along with just about anybody if I need to. That was handy in school and at work. Is that a superpower if I assume I'm going to like someone until they prove otherwise? As for physical superpowers, hmmmm. I can fall down hard, twist an ankle, do whatever, and still bounce back relatively undamaged. I have rubber ankles; my husband has delicate glass ankles. Snort.

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  27. Oh! I thought of one. I can pinch with my toes. My husband has been on the receiving end of that more than once.

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    1. Pat, that is too funny! I'm pretty good at getting along with people, too, but it hadn't occurred to me that it was a superpower. One that we all could use a lot more of!!

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  28. Hallie, I LOVE our photos! I think I should use the one of me tour-guiding on my social media:-)

    My hubby is the superpower sheet-folder in our house. Also the superpower ironer. I can either of those fairly well if I make an effort, but not as well as he does.

    Jenn, I am totally impressed by your handiness. The joke in our house when I was growing up was that my dad couldn't change a light bulb. While I am not that bad, I am definitely not mechanically gifted.

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  29. Hmm. Like Jenn, I used to build things, and my favorite gifts were power tools. I can read upside down, whistle for dogs, ambidextrous enough that I did fine with my right arm in a cast. My real super power was being able to start IV's on patients when no one else could, I even started IV's our our sick calves many years ago.

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    1. An IV whisperer! Patients must be SO glad to see you.

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  30. My super power was taking care of 2 senior citizen parents at the same time...my powers have diminished since Dad passed away, but I'm happy to live with half-strength powers now since taking care of Mom is easier.

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    1. I'm no expert, but it sounds as if what you're doing is a mitzvah. A good deed, a human kindness--I think with the idea that it's done with an open heart.

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  31. Obviously baking since it’s my job ( I have a tshirt to prove it). Pretty good cook as well. Can fold the dreaded fitted sheet and am something of a neat freak. Like Jenn I am a handy woman , perhaps it goes with the name? I can read a map & navigate my family around a strange city.

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    1. I *used* to be able to read a map and navigate. Then my interna compass inverted. Now I need to plan my route but follow it mirror image. So weird. Maybe a super power?

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  32. Yes, I can whistle through my fingers, and proud of it. It's amazingly useful, and what's more, it impresses the heck out of friends, bystanders and total strangers.

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    1. And I bet it startles them, too. Always wanted to be able to do that. Curious if you had to 'learn' to do it... as in could I learn to do that? Because I would sincerely love to.

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    2. My cousin Jan taught me when I was about 13. Oddly, I've never been able to teach anyone else, not for lack of trying. But I'm sure you could, with the right teacher.

      Perhaps there's something on Youtube?

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  33. I'm an animal whisperer. Animals know they can trust me. It comes in hand since I've been a foster home for rescue for more than 25 years. I'm also really good at reading aloud, whether it is to children or sick or elderly adults. Everyone but me loves my voice.

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  34. One of my powers that I bet O sh ssf re with many on this blog is bring able to find pretty much anything at the library. Dewey's Decimals are my friends!

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    1. I bet you share it, too! Also the super power of being able to decipher text typed with the fingers one key off on the keyboard! Thanks, Eileen!

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  35. I can touch my nose with my tongue. A totally useless skill, except maybe as a party trick.

    I can play piano and viola, though I get really bad performance anxiety when I have to play piano in public. My eyes go blurry. I have a passable alto voice, but definitely not as a soloist.

    I do pretty well in the kitchen. I love to tweak and improvise.

    I spent 4 years scrubbing bathrooms to pay my way through college and I must say I can really make a tub sparkle.

    I kind of feel like I could have lots of superpowers, except that I'm too impatient to keep working on anything enough to really become impressively good at it.

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    1. Let's hear it for the dilettantes of the world!! I'm oe, for sure. And I wish I could do a descent job cleaning a bathroom.

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  36. Long day today— could have used a superpower! The only one I seem to have is the ability to wiggle my nose. Unfortunately I don’t have the witchy magic Samantha had on Bewitched.

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    1. I cannot wiggle nose without wiggling my whole face. Hats off to you!

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  37. Busy day today and just now getting on computer tonight. I can whistle a tune, but I'm not as strong a whistler as many. My baking of cakes and other desserts pleases my family, but I'm not a bread baker. Hallie, like you, I'm good at finding items people (or me) are shopping for, or in my daughter's case, things she doesn't have time to try and find. I am a superb parallel parker, probably my most accomplished super power. My husband and I went out to eat once, with him driving. He tried at least four times to parallel park the car in a spot. I finally told him to let me do it, and, of course, I got it in one. Yes, I gloated a bit. Hahaha! Finding books for people to read that they enjoy is something I'm pretty competent at, and finding cool covers of books.

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  38. I can sing but in my family that is a normal thing. I could sing exactly like my mom and sister so the three of us together created only one voice. I have learned knitting, embroidery, sewing. I can cook for large gatherings and have some, not lots, leftovers. I still crochet. I arrange flowers, large matching arrangements for either side of the cross, on the reredos. And yesterday I calmly, completely changed the altar linen after the deacon knocked over a full chalice during the service, while resetting for the next service that included a baptism in the in less than 10 minutes. I did have little help with the communion elements but that linen switch out included unrolling the new linen that had been stored with tissue paper rolled inside that had to be removed while unrolling..... It's the CALM that is the key word here, I was amazed how calm I was.

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    1. So jealous of the singing part, and having a family of singers. When my daughter was little she used to be me NOT to sing. She, on the other hand, has nearly perfect and perfectly annoying pitch.

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  39. My super power is relating to people. Any nationality, gender, socioeconomic status or age. People love me and I love them!

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