RHYS BOWEN: I was at my health club the other day. When I came out of the shower there was another woman in the locker room, getting dressed. I took my clothes out of my locker, dressed, brushed hair and was about to go when she said, “How can you be ready so quickly? You just got here.”
I replied, “When you’ve had four children you learn to be quick at showering and dressing. I perfected the one minute shower. Turn on. Soap all over. Rince off. Out and dry before anyone could draw on the walls with marker pens, feed their sister dog food, find the scissors or any of the other awful things clever young children can do.
So then I thought: this is a skill most people don’t have.
Then I tried to list other skills that I possess that most people don’t. I don't mean I can play the piano in Carnegie Hall or win the Olympic skiing type of skills. Nope. Don't have those.
Here is my list of five:
1: Shower in one minute.
2: Can say the longest place name in the world in Welsh (I speak some Welsh)
3: Play the Celtic harp (not brilliantly but enough to satisfy myself)
4: I can put boiled eggs in cold water, set on the stove, go away and do something else and then think “those eggs must be ready” and they are always perfect: soft yolk and firm white. When I’ve tried timing them it’s never as good.
5: Write 2 and half books in a year. (okay, I know Jenn can trump me on this. But one of my is over 400 pages).
So Reds: what are your five things?
LUCY BURDETTE: I can think of three to four, and maybe there are more…
1. Spread my toes and then intertwine them like fingers.
2. Eat a bushel of peaches with minimal help in 10 days
3. Make a fried okra dish that would win over any northerner.
4. Buy more books when I’ve already got thigh high stacks–oh wait, that’s most of us!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: (Lucy? How did you learn you could do that toe thing?)
As for me. Hmmm. Let’s see.
1. I can sing a song using only the first letters of the words. OSCYS? Btdel… (There is not much call for this.)
2. I always know what time it is. Always. No matter if clocks or not, I can tell, This is probably from TV.
3. As a corollary, if you say: talk for one minute. Or ten. Or twenty. Or seven. I can do that.
4. If there is a cord to trip over, I will trip over it.
5. I can put things in alphabetical order really quickly. There is not much call for this, either.
JENN McKINLAY:
I am feeling very deficient presently. I don’t think I can do anything unusual but here goes…
1. I can always accurately guess the plot of every movie/show I watch. Always. My people do not allow me to speak anymore during viewings.
2. Like Hank, I always know what time it is. Probably from working on a reference desk for years where we changed out every hour on the hour.
3. I’m an extraordinary packer. I can live out of a carry on for a month. I can pack an entire house (okay, slight exaggeration) into the bed of a large pick up truck. It’s like Tetras for me. I’m very very good at it.
4. I can always devise a work around. If something is broken or wonky, I can always figure out a way to MacGyver it until it can be properly repaired. Seriously. This is probably a skill left over from being a poor college student.
HALLIE EPHRON:
I definitely cannot come up with five. And most of my feats are easily replicated.
1. I can recite from memory the children’s book MADELEINE (“In an old house in Paris, all covered with vines…”) and MR. BROWN CAN MOO (“Mr. Brown is a wonder… Mr. Brown makes THUNDER!”)
2. I’m another one who can guess the endings (and twists) of most mysteries on TV, and I have a hard time shutting up about it.
3. I can get 95% of the meat out of a cooked lobster with my bare hands.
4. I make a great version of Julia Childs’s bouillabaisse and also her onion soup.
RHYS: What a talented bunch we are. Which talent should we use to audition for America's Got Talent. I vote not me taking a one minute shower. Not a pretty sight!
Who has the most unusual talent (a prize for the best!)
I can read a book upside down. Unless you teach first grade, there's probably not much call for this skill, but the children like seeing the pictures while you are reading the story to them, so . . . .
ReplyDeletethat's cool Joan!
DeletePaula B here. I can read a newspaper upside down. Neither my dad nor I liked to read a “used” newspaper so, being the Dad, he got it first but I sat across the table from him and read it at the same time. Sometimes I missed the end of the article ‘cause he turned the page too soon. Used this skill when I was a secretary years and eons ago,
DeleteLucy do you move your toes with your fingers or do your toes move to intertwine on their own? If so, very impressive!!
DeleteOh, indeed :-) another thing I learned to do as a reporter…
DeleteLucy Burdette, could we see that okra recipe sometime? There are a lot of okra-doubters in my area.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's not a lot of okra here, now that I think of it; when is okra season?
Yes okra is late summer, so it's in now in CT. Here's my recipe: https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2014/10/best-southern-fried-okra-recipe.html
DeleteThank you, Becky Sue Epsteincfor the question! And thank you, Lucy, for the recipe!
DeleteGosh, what a talented crew! I am not sure I have many talents that are useful for others. Let's see.
ReplyDelete1. I can (or could when I still had cows) hand milk a cow when it's below zero.
2. I can deliver tangled triplet lambs.
3. I can kill, gut, and pluck a chicken or turkey for dinner.
4. I can frame and enclose small buildings (toolsheds, etc.) without help.
5. I can read 18th century manuscripts.
None of these skills is much use in the average day to day life. I was proud to learn how to load pigs or dairy bulls into a trailer by myself but now that the pigs, bulls, and even the trailer are gone (aging/health reasons) I'm unlikely to run into those situations around town. Folks do send me pages from 18th c. documents from time to time, wanting help with a word or sentence, and my years as a middle school teacher deciphering scribbled, misspelled homework come to my aid. (Selden)
these are amazing skills!
DeleteWhoa. Those skills are off the charts.
DeleteSelden, you are a rock star!
DeleteJRW 's got talent. I am still contemplating Lucy's toes. Oh, my.
ReplyDeleteAnd Hank, did Lee Child give his character your ability to know what time it is without a watch? It's one of the many unusual characteristics that Jack Reacher is known for.
As for the eggs on the stove, Rhys, my exploded and ruined the pot.
Judy, I immediately thought of Reacher, too! — Pat S
DeleteThat is so interesting, and you know, Lee was also in television. So maybe that’s why. Xx
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love these. Rhys, in my family we call that a Jannie shower, after my sister who has short hair and moves fast.
ReplyDelete1. I can find anything, especially when the other person says it's not there, or I would never put it there.
2. I can lie down on the couch, take off my glasses, fall asleep for exactly 15 minutes, sit up, put my glasses back on, and get back to my day refreshed.
3. I can wake up cheerful and active, even before my first coffee.
4. I can make compost and grow organic vegetables like a charm.
Edith, what is your secret for waking up cheerful and active?
DeleteI want the secret to that fifteen minute nap skill. I've read it was also a talent of JFK.
DeleteDiana - no idea! It's just who I am.
DeleteEdith, have you given the Janine shower talent to all your protagonists? None of those women seem to take more than 60 seconds to shower, dress, and leave the house! I just find this unbelievable and on rare occasions it will pull me out of the story. Lucy’s Halley Snow and Miss Gloria do the same thing! Just this long shower loving reader’s quirk. Elisabeth
Delete1. I can recite the alphabet backwards in under 10 seconds.
ReplyDelete2. Not a whole book like JOAN but I can read pages upside down.
3. I can type over 170 wpm on a computer keyboard (130 wpm on a man7al typewriter).
4. I can order food at a restaurant in over 15 languages.
15 languages! Grace you win!
DeleteGRACE: Any chance you know some Sign Language? Diana
DeleteWow lots of great talents! I too have the ability to know what time it is, and when my timer is going to go off. My work at 9-1-1 involved 2 hour blocks on the radio, phones, service desk or as the potty- relief person. On the radio, we would give the time after every transmission, and the call letters of the radio channel we were working at the top of each hour. It was always fun to say "WSL405 clear at quad zero" (midnight is 0000).
ReplyDeleteI guess my talent would be my ability to spout verses about various British monarchs from the book Kings and Queens by Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon. William the Conquerer gets me through a minute of planking. ("William the First was the first of our Kings, not counting Ethelreds, Egberts and things.....:)
Good heavens. I don't think I can compete with these.
ReplyDelete1. I can type 90-100 wpm (but Grace blows me away on this one).
2. I also can guess the ending to 95% of what I watch on TV/movies.
3. I can carry on three online conversations at a time (thank you, Microsoft Teams).
4. I can puzzle out just about any tech problem (I am my family's tech support, along with my sister).
5. I can make pie. (Okay, this sounds easy. But I meet so many people who say they cannot get the crust right and it's something I never had a problem with.)
LIZ: There is no competition here. We all are friends here. Impressed that you can make pie with a pie crust. And that you are tech savvy.
DeleteI modestly say that I am world famous for my sky High apple pie, the crest of which I made from scratch.
DeleteCrust...
DeleteEdith, I make all my crusts from scratch. My grandmother taught me how using the recipe from Betty Crocker - but a couple of tips of her own, including using ice water, not just cold water.
DeleteLet's see if I can get five. I am going to give this a try!
ReplyDelete1. My brain can automatically translate American Sign Language into English.
2. I can spell names and words that are hard to pronounce since I finger spell the letters.
3. Wiggle my ears
4. I can put things in alphabetical order, which is a job skill in some careers
5. I've been told that I am an excellent lipreader, though I wonder if I have telepathy ?
Wow, I admire all these rare talents!
ReplyDeleteLet's see:
1. I can curl my tongue both ways. Almost as good--and as useful--as Lucy's toe trick.
2. Very fast reader. With no distraction I can polish off most books in a day.
3. I can also read upside down, ever since I was little. My second grade teacher had me sit on the desk in the fifth grade class and read to the older kids.
4. Give me five ingredients and I will make you a meal, usually delicious. Or at least edible. (Survival skill, in case of the apocalypse.)
5. Host the best damn Halloween party you will ever attend, with a signature drink, a full late supper, awesome music, and insane decorations. Almost everyone who puts in the effort gets a costume award.
Lucy, thanks for the link to the okra recipe! Mine is starting to really produce right now.
DeleteAnother low ingredient cooker! My best is three ingredients. Learned it when I cooked on a boat and had to feed the deck hands.
DeleteI can do three in a pinch, as long as herbs and spices don't count!
DeleteCooking for a big group is another kind of superpower, especially under the kinds of conditions you find at sea, Kait!
Whoa! This is so fun.
ReplyDeleteI can’t think of 5 things, but:
1. Like Jenn, I can MacGyver things (engineer brain).
2. I can walk into any place (particularly events) and come up with ways to make it more efficient (engineer brain again).
3. When I step off an elevator, I always (almost) know which direction to turn.
4. For short bursts, I can write without looking. This was helpful to maintain eye contact during interviews, but would occasionally freak out the candidate.
Yes, yes, efficiency methods! I do that too :-) but often I don’t say a word…
DeleteLove this! Let's see - the hardest part is that if these are things I can do, I don't realize they're necessarily unique.
ReplyDelete1. Like Jenn and Lisa in Long Beach, I can MacGyver anything - dad was an industrial engineer - he taught me.
2. Give me at least three ingredients, I'll find a way to make a meal.
3. I'm great at impromptu first aid for humans, cats, dogs, and birds. Comes from having worked in an emergency room
4. I can pill cats - only found one I couldn't and I swear she has storage pockets in her cheeks that let her store the pill and spit it out as she walked away.
5. I always know where I am and how long it will take to get where I'm going.
I honestly can't think of anything I can do that others can't! I mean, I'm quite good at some things - writing, singing, public speaking - but right here at JRW we've got folks who can surpass me on all of those. Which is fine my me - I'm okay with just being me. :-)
ReplyDeleteThese responses are fascinating and inspiring. One thing that comes to mind that I can do slightly better than most involves my library. I volunteer there straightening and cleaning shelves. Invariably, if there is something in the wrong genre or labeled incorrectly it jumps out at me. I'll come into the office and hear the librarians say, "Miss Victoria was here today, wasn't she?" because there will be a slew of book issues to be addressed. Even happens when I'm just browsing for a book to read. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteI can hand wash, iron from wet to dry and fold church linens, correctly. Or as correctly as I was taught some 40 plus years ago. May not seem like much but our altar cloths are about 8 to 9 feet long, so depending on the amount of embroidery, that cloth can take about 30 to 45 minutes just to iron dry. Then the altar cloth is rolled onto a hard cardboard tube for storage. The other linens are folded in particulars ways, depending on their use. I'm sure there might be other things I might do, that others struggle with, but I can't come up with any right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm really stretching here but I can pinch the hell out of anyone (preferably my husband) with my toes. My ankles are rubber. I can twist, turn, step in a hole, whatever with no harm or damage.
ReplyDeleteDogs like me.
I know all fifty US states and their capitals more or less alphabetically, also the Canadian provinces and their capitals.
ReplyDeleteGood at finding misplaced items.
Able to find grammatical and other errors such as time sequence mistakes in books, they just jump out at me.
Not always great at recognizing faces (especially with masks on), but very good long term memory with names and places.
I use the alohabetical states and capitals as my counting sheep method if I can’t get to sleep.
DeleteI love this! These are hilarious. I can only think of a few and I'm not sure they are really exceptional. 1) I can parallel park efficiently. Thank you Mr. Driskol, my high school drivers ed teacher. 2) I am a champion at "battle frig." That's what my family calls making a meal from whatever is in the refrigerator that looks impossible. 3) I can curl my tongue and make a sound that I've never known anyone else able to do. Comes in really handy--never. 4) I remember people's names. It's a gift I got from my dad. 5) This is no longer true, but at one time I had a singing range that allowed me to sing any of the four female choral parts of The Messiah. The choir director would put me wherever I was needed. So there! P.S. I also make a mean okra dish!
ReplyDeleteI can recite the alphabet forwards and backwards.
ReplyDeleteI am the go-to person in my family for proofreading everything.
I grew a pineapple in Minnesota after rooting the top.
I can survive multiple bonks in the face from a book or Ereader when dozing off while reading in bed.
I can identify the UPS truck by the sound from a few blocks away.
Lucy, I’m glad you finished your new manuscript, but your toes creep me out.
I used to be able to recite Madeline in Paris but have forgotten bits and pieces over the years. I used to take the world's longest showers but lately I am more like Rhys. In and out in about 5. So she still holds the record at one minute.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I can come up with five, but here goes:
ReplyDelete2. I can trip over air molecules.
3. I can write and read cursive. I know that most of us here can do that, but I hear that we’re a dying breed.
4. I can read a map. I thought everyone could, but I’ve been finding that many people are stymied about reading a map. Maps have fascinated me since I was a small child. I could spend a Saturday afternoon reading an
atlas.
5. I have a good memory for names and faces. My family and friends rely on me for help with that. I keep telling them I’m getting older and I don’t know how much longer I can do this!
DebRo
We are sisters in klutziness, DebRo. Too bad that can't be monetized. Sigh.
DeleteI can not only trip on air, I can also choke on it!
DeleteKaren and Edith,
DeleteIf we all lived in the same small town, we could probably keep the doctors busy!
DebRo
I can sound like i know how to do or fix something when the kids call, even though I usually don’t – use common sense.
ReplyDeleteUnder same situation I can remain calm.
I can faint when panicked! (not all that good at the vet office, but on the other hand like Seldon, I can do whatever by myself in the barn…and then usually make a good story about it afterwards – there is always something funny to be found.)
I can look after and talk to kids. I am not a nice person, but kids get that they can’t pull anything over my eyes. I also have popsicles.
I can make a list of all your talents and call you – pie crust makers, compost makers and various others. Maybe not the tongue rollers or toe things – I can’t stand looking at toes!
Rhys, this post made me think I should list all the things I CAN'T do! Maybe that is upcoming!
ReplyDeleteDoes talking and pissing people off at the same time count as a talent?
ReplyDeleteI'm without much in the way of original talent so I can just do the stuff like everyone else can do.
Or as the T-shirt author James Ziskin was wearing in a Facebook post the other day stated, "I'm good at useless things".
Sharon Bishop: Nothing special here, but what the hey I’ll list them anyway:
ReplyDelete1) I can make a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle in one night without taking any breaks. (Must be my OCD).
2) I can spell any word my fiancé asks without having to look it up. He’s a terrible speller. 🤭
3) I am an expert at finding spelling errors in anything I read. Especially published books!
4) I’m an animal whisperer. They love me (especially cats).
5) I can cook hard boiled eggs to perfection (sorry Rhys & Judy). 🙃
This was such a fun post . I have to confess I don't have any if those talents, but I sure would like Lucy's okra recipe.
ReplyDelete1. I can print very neatly and legible. I relearned how when I was doing my student teaching. 2. I can read upside down. I learned this while teaching special ed. kiddos. 3. I can do IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) paperwork and parent meetings. I did this for 30 years while teaching. 4. I am great at editing and finding mistakes in writings. and 5. I can keep a secret for several years!
ReplyDelete