Dec13

performance anxiety?

Posted on by
Standard

Image

when i was 7, i finally had a chance to meet one of my idols, spiderman, who happened to be at the montgomery wards store at our local mall, at the same time as i was. i saw this as fate, and i could not have been more excited, as he had been one of my idols for as long as i could remember.

waiting in line, anxious, worked up, hopping with joy, i finally made my way up to the front to meet him. i was shy, but i was motivated, and so, i asked him to ‘shoot his webs’ for me, one of my favorite superpowers i’d seen him do on tv many times, enabling him to fly from building to building, saving people, and meting out justice on the bad guys. 

i will never forget his reaction in response to my quiet, but earnest request. he first just looked at me for a moment, smiled, held up his wrists, the place where the webs originated from, and then – nothing happened. it was my turn to stare at him then, and i put my head down and felt bad for him, and for me, said thank you, and just walked away, back to my family, lost in the mall crowd once again. 

—

Wisdom comes by disillusionment. – George Santayana

Discover more from I didn't have my glasses on....

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

50 responses »

  7. Oh, what a tangled web we weave from childhood disappointment, Beth. The Montgomery Wards moment sticks with you, the 20 years since you were 7, and your writing shows it was a lesson well learned. Hey, I miss Montgomery Wards! The people’s department store, wedged in there somewhere between JCPenny and Macy’s on the ladder of prestige …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • mark – yes! i’m happy someone else remembers ‘monkey wards’, as my parents used to call it. it truly was a store for the everyman – and i am still learning my lessons every day.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  9. There is nothing so heart breaking as that first moment of disillusionment in a child’s life, is there? What a touching memory. Almost made me tear up. I guess the real trick is continuing to find the wonder around us once we’ve had our first impressions of the world shattered, isn’t it? That happily coincides with the topic of a short post I have drafted now and will have up later today. Thanks for sharing the memory!

    Like

    Reply ↓

  14. Just like a mall superhero–knowing full well he cannot deliver, and yet he lifts up his wrists and hopes for a miracle, only to prove himself a failure and crush your belief in him. Wonder Woman would never have done that.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  15. I have never met a superhero, for which I am envious! But, alas, he was not able to show you how he makes his webs and this was a sad day for you. I can feel this over the years, too! But, he was just lacking the “lying” or “fibbing” characteristic, otherwise he could have made up a story to explain it! Too bad, but heroes don’t always have to fail! Yeah! Take it easy, Robin

    Like

    Reply ↓

  18. It … happens to a lot of guys. He probably had a lot on his mind, you know, saving the world and whatnot.

    I mean, that’s what I hear.

    I hope this doesn’t mean that if I run into Katniss Everdeen in JC Penney that she’ll rob me of my innocence in a similar way.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  19. Never mind, Spiderman was a bit of a let down but Andro will soon have you enjoying everything again, no I can’t fire webs from my wrists either but I can certainly give you a nice evening in with a few chocolate biscuits and a few Zombie jokes :) lol Well I only said…

    Have a cracking good Tuesday with lashings of Super moments :)

    Andro xxxx

    Like

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment