My Superpower
What kid doesn't want to be a superhero? At the age of six, I learned of my very own superpower. No, I couldn't fly or see through walls. I didn't have super speed or super strength. I had a special power. I just needed to decide whether to use this power for good or evil.
The Topps Company released a set of trading cards in 1983 to cash-in on the success of the latest Superman film and steal the allowance of kids the world over. I was a kid, but without an allowance. Superman was my favorite superhero for two reasons: he had the letter 'S' on his chest (my first initial) and he wore blue (my favorite color). Sure it was cool that he flew around and saved the world, but I didn't understand half of the dialogue from the comics. I didn't even get to see Superman III at the movie theater. It didn't matter. I knew one thing: I wanted those cards and I would use whatever powers I had to get them.
Every time we made the trip to the local grocery store, I would sneak away from mom and find my way to the trading cards near the express lane. This was a small town in a time when parents didn't have to watch over their kids, so my mom would leave me be and knew where to find me when she was ready to leave. I would stand there, looking over the boxes of cards. There were white boxes with baseball cards. There were black boxes with Star Wars cards. In a blue box with red and white stripes I would find Superman cards. I would spot them and then move over to the comic books. It was there that I would wait and plan my attack. I had to find a way to convince my mother that I deserved these cards.
"I've been good all day," I could tell her. Or, "I cleaned my room today," could be another persuasive technique. Either one I choose, I was bound to lose.
"You don't need them," she would tell me. Or "You should keep your room clean everyday," was another popular response.
I would pout; she wouldn't give in and we would go home.
One day, my mother was in a hurry and decided that instead of letting us go in the grocery store with her, she had us wait in the car. It was pretty hot out. I had the car door open, my feet dangling over the seat, too short to touch the ground. The tar of the parking lot was bubbling in the heat. I jumped down to pop these black bubbles, leaving a sticky substance on my shoe. My brother was laying in the backseat. He looked up to see what I was doing out of the car.
"Mom said we had to stay in the car," he said.
I told him I knew that but I wasn't going anywhere. I told him he could get out and pop the bubbles with me. He climbed out of the backseat and walked to me. We stood about the same height. He was almost two years younger, but we still looked like twins. He jumped up and down a few times then ran back into the car. I was starting to realize my power. I told him to come back out and play. He did.
A few minutes passed. I started to think about those cards. I knew I would get in trouble if I went inside and left my brother alone in the car. In my young mind, the only way to get around this was to have my brother go in and I would stay in the car.
"Go inside and get a few packs of cards," I told him. "I'll give you some of them if you get them for me," I said, knowing that the only cards I would dare give away would be the doubles. He wasn't sure what to do. I was his older brother. I was someone he could trust. He thought about it for as long as his 4 yr-old mind would allow.
"Just run in, get a few packs and come back. You'll be back before mom is done." I was the devil on his shoulder and I could see that I was winning. He knew it wasn't quite right, but he wanted to impress his big brother. My powers were growing stronger now. I tried one more time.
"Real quick, in and out."
He got out of the car, went into the grocery store and then he was gone. Just seconds later he returned to the car. He got in, shut the door, reached into his pocket and pulled out 4 packs of cards.
"How did you get them?" I asked.
"I just grabbed them and put them in my pocket," he timidly said, perhaps unsure of what he just did.
"Did anyone see you?"
"One girl looked at me but I walked away."
Our mother was now walking toward the car. I took the cards and slid them in the seat. The whole ride home I had one thought – I hope I got a card of Superman.
We pulled into the driveway and took the groceries inside. I went back out to the car to get my hidden treasure. I pulled the 4 packs out, opened them and looked over each one carefully. I arranged them in numerical order and walked into the house to my bedroom. The first thing I saw was my mother. She was picking up my laundry off the floor. I had the cards in my hand and I didn't know what to do. Without thinking, I walked in and crawled under my bed. I slept on the bottom of a bunk bed that sat about two feet off the floor. I usually kept a few of my favorite toys under there since it was my favorite hiding place. Lying with my back on the floor, I could look up at see the bottom of the mattress. Holding the mattress in place were a few wood beams. The frame of the bed formed a sort of ledge where I kept my secret treasures. I placed the stack of cards here, got out from under the bed and walked to the living room to watch TV. My mom followed, only she had something in her hand – my Superman cards. She asked where I had gotten them. I was already a thief; I didn't want to be a liar. I told her how I talked my brother into getting them at the grocery store. An understatement would be to say that she was furious. My powers were useless against her. She took the cards and sent me to my room. My punishment was to wait there until my dad got home, when I would face a bigger challenge. If only I had the power to look into the future! I would have been able to see that today I can get all 99 cards and 22 stickers, from the Superman III trading card set, for just $30.00 – a small price to avoid a sore bottom.
In response to 'Let It Snow' from
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
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