I think everyone has a quirky talent that nobody else in their group shares - a secret super power. It may be useful but is more likely to be odd like always getting the biggest slice of cake or finding coins on the street or flagging taxis in ten seconds.

This isn’t a new idea, of course. Justine Larbalestier calls secret super powers “fairies” in her book, How to Ditch Your Fairy, and her heroine has a parking fairy - she unfailingly finds parking spots even though she doesn’t drive.

My secret super power seems to be Seeing Bugs. Not in a tripped out, itchy, Philip K Dick way, but in a “Hey, here’s a ladybug! Oooh, look at the green beetle. Ack, a mosquito!” way. I can scan across a room and find the bugs. I see them on sidewalks, in bushes, & on trees. I have no idea what use this is but there you go.

Tod has Four Leaf Clover Detection powers. He can glance at a bed of clover, bend down and pluck a lucky one. It’s quite amazing. He says he can smell them. Tod is lucky in lots of situations, so maybe the clovers are a side effect or a manifestation of his general luckiness.

What is your Secret Super Power? A randomly selected commenter will win a (slightly used) copy of How to Ditch Your Fairy. I’ll make the random selection on Wednesday, July 8th.