SUPERPOWERS

A few days ago I saw an internet query asking what superpowers the readers would like to have. One choice was total invisibilty, another was phenomenal speed-reading skills.
I didn't bother answering it, as largely I am already invisible most of the time.
And any sane person would love to speed read phenomenally.


So, keeping that thing about superpowers in mind, it somehow fits that a person in Chinatown asked me if I had ever thought of being a supervisor, as I spoke Cantonese quite well, and would probably be excellent in that position.


This illustrates THREE things:

My Cantonese is good enough under very limited conditions to fool some of the people some of the time. Other than that, nixt farshtay.

Somehow I come across as a sane and sensible invidual.

I look younger than I am.


My Cantonese is best when dealing with food and drink. Not answering questions about your shift, scheduled days off, or how you caught athletes foot from the floor in the store room. Athletes foot is often called "Hong Kong Foot" (香港腳 'heung gong keuk'), by the way.
It is best treated by clotrimazole, prevented by a good medicated foot powder.

Sane and sensible is not the image I normally think I have. Instead, twixt Hemmingway-esque and William Faulkner-ish. With a strong undertone of nuttier than a Texas fruitcake.
I'm a Brabander, for heaven's sake, we're supposed to get battier as we get older.
No less an authority than Erasmus said so.

Now, perhaps more people need spectacles. The chap who spoke to me wears them, but maybe he needs a new praescription. Also, I take good care of my skin. Little bit of Aveeno. But I should try to figure out at what distance focus goes completely hazy and older skin looks fresh and vibrant.


In some way I already have superpowers.



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