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Is Superman Real?
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Is Superman Real? |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California 
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The boys sing. They give their voices a southern twang; real country. They play their Ovaltine can drums with chopsticks in questionable rhythm. The girls dance in my long skirts, made into strapless gowns. They wear baby blue eye shadow and fruit flavored lip stick. In grandma’s rough hat that smelled of mothballs and dust, and the silk kimono from a long ago Hong Kong, I stood on the steps and sang "Yankee Doodle" and they all clapped, except my brother who snickered behind his hands. The boys pin the bath towels around their necks, with large round pins that say, "I was there, Monahan’s Irish Pub, St. Patrick’s Day". They jump from the top bunk and their capes flare out. The girls lock the bathroom door and giggle. I thought I looked so grown up in mother’s strappy heels. The sound of their clunk-clunking across the floor impressed me more than the look. I wanted to be grown up. Thirteen was the magic time when I would start. The girls strut down the hall from the bathroom, soldiers in the pre-teen parade. My girl is dressed in my high school prom formal and her friend in my drill team wear, straight out of my youth they march singing "It’s my party and I’ll dress as I want to". At thirteen I got braces, acne and my period at the same time I started liking boys. The boys fall breathless to the floor. "Look Mom, this is how Superman really goes." The frayed edges of the towels reach the floor. The pink floral pattern of the towels does not seem incongruous to them. I wanted to be a cowboy and ride a horse into my future. There was no place for this dream in the dance of my middle class twirling skirts. The boys want to have motorcycles and they want to be cool. They have learned to say "he done" and "ain’t". I used to think that if I smiled and was pleasant to everyone, nothing bad could happen. I dressed up and danced the song in my heart but something bad did happen that I couldn’t tell with my voice or a graceful little girl dance. The girl catches a heel in the hem of satin and the sound turns her face of laughter into almost tears. Just beginning, she does not realize that she is almost ending. The boys question me for the answers to the moral questions of the world. "Mom, can I ride my bike down town by myself?" "Mom, today at school I couldn’t do my paper and I almost cried." Mom, I don’t want a motorcycle when I grow up because they’re dangerous, right?" "Mom, is Superman real?" |
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| © Copyright 1999 Martie Odell Ingebretsen - All Rights Reserved | |||
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DreamEvil Member Elite
since 1999-06-22
Posts 2396 |
Welcome to Passions in Prose!  Hope you stay awhile. ------------------ Now and forever my heart hears ~one voice~. DreamEvil© |
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merlynh Member
since 1999-09-26
Posts 411deer park, wa |
I like your style of your voice. I look forward to reading more of your work. Thanks for sharing. |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Welcome indeed, and yes Martie, Superman is real. |
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Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666California |
Wonerfully done Martie. ------------------ Michael Anderson I could not love except where Death Was mingling his with Beauty's breath - Or Hymen, Time, and Destiny Were stalking between her and me. EAP |
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Alain DeLaCendres Member
since 1999-07-02
Posts 119Ohio |
Beautiful. I can't say enough. ------------------ Tout s'en va, tout passe, l'eau coule, et le couer oublie. |
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vlraynes Member Rara Avis
since 2000-07-25
Posts 8229Somewhere... out there... |
I did enjoy reading this Martie...and I just realized that this was one of your first posts at Passions. Glad you stuck around, my friend.  "My friends are my estate." |
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kayjay Member Elite
since 2002-06-24
Posts 2015Oregon |
I'm so glad you referred to this site and now I've so much reading pleasure in front of me. Nice scenes! Such a moment you caught with Michelle! KJ Through rubble and trouble and dark of night |
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Sudhir Iyer Member Ascendant
since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943Mumbai, India : now in Belgium |
Superman, maybe... superMum, surely... regards sudhir P.S. glad that this was brought back to the top ... |
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