I believe that we all have a superpower. Some people can cook the most amazing foods. Some people can make lots of money. Some people are excellent teachers, police officers, lawyers, writers, or caregivers. Some doctors can diagnose an illness that others miss. Some people can talk to anyone. Others can get up on a stage and transport the audience to another time and place. We all have something.
My superpower? I draw to me books and movies I want, often in discounted ways. I mean, I can kill it in the clearance corner of Half Price Books. And today's example? Audible's deal for the day is Steve Martin's memoir Born Standing Up. I don't know why I haven't gotten my hands on this book yet, but here is why I wanted that book today: I get to see him this weekend. He and Martin Short will be here in person, and I get to be in that room. I am so excited.
I have loved the work of both of these men for many years. They have made me laugh, and cry, and then laugh a lot more. I don't even have the words to express how much I owe to these two men, these heroes of mine, these geniuses of comedy.
But beyond that, I owe a special debt to Steve Martin. The year was 1991. I was in college, and I was having a rough time. I didn't know where to go from there, just a girl and an English degree. And then I saw L. A. Story.
That movie reminded me that magic is possible in this life. I had stopped believing. I had gotten lost. I had gotten too far away from my self. But he brought me back. I sat in the theater and watched that movie over and over. I still watch it whenever I can. It is poetry. If you haven't seen it, then just remember this: "Let your mind go, and your body will follow."
So I will be listening to Steve martin's memoir, and I will get to see him in person. And unless the universe is so generous as to offer me an Audible deal on Martin Short's memoir tomorrow, I will have to read that the old-fashioned way. On my phone.