Potato Mashing is so Pedestrian

Daily writing prompt

What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?

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I suppose saying that I’m really good at mashing potatoes is kind of lame.

It seems a skimpy skill compared to playing Chopin or changing the oil in one’s car, which nobody does any more so who cares?

Still, I can mash potatoes within an inch of their lives. I can also make a perfect white sauce which, if so desired, can become a cheese sauce, a skill I will exercise tonight in an effort to redeem our healthy vegetable pasta. I can also make breakfast for a lot of people fairly fast, write a letter of recommendation in five minutes, and hold a protest sign, often over my head, for an hour and a half.

This does not erase the fact that twice this week I unwittingly stepped out in front of moving cars. There are spatial explanations for both incidents, but neither would have saved me if the drivers hadn’t hit the brakes. I am starting to not look where I’m going. I’m conscious of this, walking behind parked cars that might be backing up, but in my head, I think, I am the pedestrian as if pedestrian is written in capital letters and as if I am wearing a bright neon jacket, a magic one that stops traffic coming from all directions.

I take the two incidents of stepping into the path of oncoming cars as what? – a warning? – a symptom? – a sign from the gods? I resolve to be more careful. To become better at avoiding death or serious injury. Or causing some poor soul endless grief because they rammed into an old lady crossing the street. I wouldn’t want that to be my legacy. Heavens.

Will my secret skill or ability be avoiding death by bumper?

What I know about writing prompts is this: they can lead you anywhere, even into the street.