Unique: Write about, or mention, a single thing that distinguishes you from everybody else that you know.*

What distinguishes me from everybody else? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is this little nub-y thing on my ear.

It looks like the very tip of my ear got trapped in a door, or flattened with a waffle iron, or pinched by an over-affectionate aunt. Maybe when I was a baby a strong, blind aunt came to visit, noticed my adoring cuteness and then, as she tried to reach for my cheek to give it an Oh-How-Cute squeeze and shake, she missed (because she was blind... but not so blind that she didn't notice my cuteness!) and grabbed my ear instead. And pinched the hell out of it. I don't know who this semi blind aunt with the power pinchers is but hopefully she's rich and puts me in her will.

So, let's get back to the topic of my ear nub-iness. There could be millions upon gabillions of people with similar ear nubs and I just don't know it. That's very possible. But for the sake of this post lets assume that it's a very rare phenomenon. I've never noticed anyone looking at it, staring at it, commenting or laughing at it. It's small and hardly even noticeable. But it is noticeable to me.

Warning: body parts in mind are actually smaller than they appear.

So the curve of my earlobe isn't exactly smooth and round like everyone else's. Who cares? I don't, but I did when I was about 7 or 8 years old.

I don't really remember how much I was bothered by it but I do have a memory of sitting in the school cafeteria thinking about it. (Weird thing to remember, I know.)

"He does not need opium. He has the gift of reverie." - Anais Nin

I remember thinking about the people with similar ear nubs who would be looking for me. (Ear Nubbers of the Universe Unite!) I used to fantasize that my little ear nub was a marking, a sign that I belonged to some ultra secret, ultra special group of people. Maybe they weren't even people at all, but aliens. Aliens with retarded Spock ears. (No, the ear is not THAT deformed! That's just how I refer to it sometimes.) Not only would the ear nub mean I belonged to this super selective, secretive club, but it would mean that I had special powers. Special powers with superhero like abilities.

"For the better part of my childhood, my professional aspirations were simple - I wanted to be an intergalactic princess." - Janet Evanovich, Seven Up

Maybe this little fancy of mine was the starting block for my 'I'm a comic book type of superhero' daydream. Those daydreams are always fun because I save my friends (from high school, college, work - depending on what stage in life I'm in) from the evil villains who are hell bent on destroying them, and the world. In the end, everyone looks at me with a new appreciation and awe. (And maybe even with a little bit of envy too.)

Are those the things I was longing for when I dreamed that my little ear nub meant I was destined for greater things other than the second grade spelling bee? I don't remember, but it's possible.

"In this life there are nothing but possibilities." - Lucas, Empire Records

To this day I haven't seen anyone with a nub-afflicted ear. Am I really looking? No. And 'they' haven't found me either. Do I still imagine them tracking me down? No. But I am still debating whether or not I want a cape to go with my superhero crime-fighting suit. Decisions, decisions.


"Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow