THE SUPERWOMAN
.
At this stretch of my life's road, the first to mention would be
the young woman I used to refer to with the pseudonym
Supergirl.
(As of September 1999, she has started to refer to herself as
Superwoman,
and I have to admit that this is probably more appropriate by now.)
I don't think she wants her name mentioned here, and even less her
picture. Too bad. Of course, anybody who happen to know her will
recognize her anyway from my descriptions.
She's pretty near the best mortal friend you can have, in my humble
opinion. She is intelligent beyond the scope of most people's
comprehension, yet she is not arrogant. Oh, she may seem
more self-secure, strong-willed and independent than most young
women. But she has reason for that and for much more. She uses
much of her energy on her many friends, and we love her more the
more we know her.
The perhaps most startling thing about her is her intensity. It
is like she is radiating energy just by being there, intensifying
reality around her. When she is there, the grass is greener, the
sky is brighter, the music is more musical, life itself seems more
alive. And she is living every second of it. She will listen when
I talk and talk when I will listen, and share everything we do until
it is like we're listening with the same ears and seeing with the
same eyes. She is more present when she is asleep than many people
are when they are screaming for attention. Such is the intensity of
her existence. And I, of course, bask unashamedly in her presence
whenever I have the chance. :)
I've known SuperGirl since she was barely looking over the edge of
the table. By then I was already grown. I could legally have had
a child her age (though it would have been a spectacularly bad idea),
so this is not your typical romantic relationship. Which is just
too bad. If I had been her generation, I would no doubt been madly
and disturbingly in love with her. She's beautiful too, especially
recently. Pity the poor boys at the university in Munich.
They must have some sleepless nights, no doubt.
The whole Germany thing means that I very rarely see her now, and
that bites. Sure, I can live without her and have done so for half
my life, but the other half has been much better. I'd love to meet
her more often. We do have quite a bit in common, after all. We
are both bright and inquisitive people, so we tend to exchange facts
as well as opinions on almost anything under the sun. We have much
the same morality and ethical standards and appreciate the same traits
in other people. We are both rational and not given to being carried
away by emotions, even though we can feel pretty strongly. We are
both eager talkers and listeners, so we can entertain each other
almost indefinitely. (Some times I've been on the phone with her for
several hours in a row, and none of us like telephones.) Oh, and
we're both Capricorns, for you superstitious astrology believers
out there. Though contrary to stereotype, neither SuperGirl nor
I bother much about money and we definitely don't hoard our gold.
(And of course, Capricorns are too rational to believe in astrology!)
In short, I love her a lot (though not in the typical erotic meaning)
and she is often on my mind; I even miss her now and then, which
I rarely do with anyone. She is My Best Friend In The World.
