Unless you are under age 2 or over age 50 and just don't give a flip unless James Bond is in it, you've heard the Marvel Avengers blockbuster franchise has another movie coming out soon.
BTW I'm of an age that when I hear 'Avengers', my first thought is of the 1960s British TV spy-themed show starring the marvelous Diana Rigg. The sexy, stylish Rigg teamed with dapper Patrick Macnee, protecting Queen and country from all sorts of nefarious mayhem.
Marvel's Avengers is something quite different - a group of superheroes banding together to fight evil (when one superhero just isn't enough). Marvel noted the success of this team concept by their competitors at DC Comics and jumped on the bandwagon with their comic book version in 1963.
After pondering on Marvel's Avengers and their various abilities, I realized I also have a team of friends with superpowers. I suppose that makes them Super Friends. I don't know a lot about superheroes, but I do know this: they like to conceal their true identities. So I will extend my Super Friends the same courtesy and refer to them by fancy nicknames. I'll throw you a bone and give you one hint about who they are: unlike most comics/movies in this genre, all of my Super Friends are women.
The White Glove - Her house sparkles. Every room is immaculate and furnished perfectly. I often send her interior design pictures out of Southern Living as proof that she has already done that room better. Think of her as the love child of Martha Stewart and MacGyver. The White Glove can create a chic tablescape (yes, that is a thing) out of nothing but the contents of my recycling bin and a hot glue gun that makes anything on HGTV look like, well, like it came out of my recycling bin.
Dig It - The mistress of anything with roots. She needs a ladder to harvest her tomato plants. Last summer, she gave me some collard greens so large I had to rinse them off in the swimming pool. Her cut flower garden (which she planted by accident when a packet of seeds blew out of her shopping bag) has taken over a quarter mile-long strip of common area in her neighborhood. It looks like the poppy field scene from the Wizard of Oz.
Vogue - She looks good in everything. Everything looks good on her. She's the only person I know who can wear yoga pants, Crocs, plaid lumberjack shirts, and cat-eye eyeliner, ALL AT ONCE, and not look like an Egyptian redneck escaped from a minimum security prison in Dubuque. One year we decided to wear the same costumes for Halloween. No one had any trouble identifying her as Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Everyone thought I was Carol Kane's character.
Hella Prep - Recently I wanted to try a new recipe that only had two main ingredients: zucchini and Parmesan. And of course when I went to fix dinner that night, I had no Parmesan. This never happens to Hella Prep. Her pantry is always fully stocked. When she grocery shops, she always gets home with everything that was on her list (unlike myself, who either 1) leaves the list at home, or 2) creates a great list, then leaves the list in the car). She rarely runs out of anything, but if she does, knows how to make a substitution. I once saw her feed a spur-of-the-moment GNO with some Key Lime yogurt, a half a box of All Bran, and a Vitamix.
InstaFriend - People LOVE her. Like they love their pets, or their kids, or their best bra. She never meets a stranger. Spend 90 seconds with her and you'll fire-walk across traffic at rush hour in midtown Manhattan and spread-eagle at the curb to save her a parking space. People send her flowers if she's under the weather. They bring her warm homemade cookies for no reason at all. The only warm cookies I get are the ones I buy myself, that fall out of the bag, wedge themselves into the driver's seat, and I unwittingly sit on them all the way home. Usually in white pants.
Ms. Olympic - is good at every athletic endeavor. She shot under 100 the first time she ever played golf, even though she kept confusing the driver with the fairway woods (who doesn't?) and played in her flip-flops. Her first time bowling was as a chaperone for her daughter's 4th grade class party. She bowled over 200, and her score was only that low because she couldn't decide if she wanted to bowl righty or lefty. Even though she always wins, she's so modest and self-deprecating and genuinely delighted with her unanticipated success, you can't be mad at her - because you definitely always want her on your team.
It wasn't easy divining who among my friends harbors these Super Skills. They don't like to talk about it, natch, although they probably discuss it among themselves, far from the prying ears of mere mortals. If you observe carefully, you may find impressive powers hidden among your nearest and dearest. Currently, I'm keeping a close eye on another possible addition to this list. She has the most amazing ability to talk her husband into just about anything. I think I'll call her the Spouse Whisperer.
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