Superpowers

I was a comic book reader as a child, but not cool comics like they buy on The Big Bang Theory about guys with superpowers. Oh, no. No Superman, Marvel, etc. and whatever. I read Dennis the Menace, Archie, Richie Rich, and Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Of course, now that I think about it, Caspar did have sort of a superpower, even if he did have to die to get it. He could fly.

If I could pick a superpower, that would be it. I'd fly all over the place. Also, the Ghostly Trio could scare somebody by just saying, "Boo"--I mean to the point that people begged them not to boo. That was pretty super and wouldn't be a bad ability to have.

But no flying for me, except in an airplane. No booing that does any good at keeping annoying people away from me.

What I can do is tell when somebody is lying. I swear, it's like a sixth sense. I wish I didn't have this ability, due to the staggering number of people who lie.

I've always been able to do it, but I have a vivid memory of the first time I became acutely aware of it. I was sixteen and my high school boyfriend told me he'd had sex with his next door neighbor's granddaughter. Now, this had supposedly occurred before he met me, so that wasn't an issue. But I knew he was lying, though there was no good reason for me to not believe him. I didn't even know the girl in question. Later, in a fit of repentance, he admitted it. All I thought was, "Well, I knew that."

And it has happened over and over again all my life. Someone will say something—and most of the time it's something small that makes no difference—and this little ping will go off in my head. Often, (often enough that it has taught me to trust my instinct) I find out for sure that they've lied because they trip themselves up.

Too bad there's no money in this. Flying would be way better. Or booing.

Oh, and by the way, The Guy never lies. I mean never. He doesn't even know how. That's probably why I let him pick me.

What superpower do you have? What superpower to you wish you had?