“No capes!”
~Edna
Edna was a shadowy figure from Bob’s past who knew his secrets. In fact, she was instrumental in his rise to fame. If she could fix a few loose seams in his favorite suit, in his persona, Bob thought he could return to the limelight and the accolades of an adoring public
Bob was all about grabbing headlines. He had an image to protect and wasn’t about to let his wardrobe get in the way. Fresh off an extreme makeover, he had taken his transformation as far as he could. He called on Edna. However, her plan was much different from Bob’s. Why settle to relive the past, no matter how illustrious, when the future offers so much more? It was she that planted the seed that it was time for a new suit.
Bob desperately wanted to return to his days of glory, to a life where he was the center of the universe, and in his orbit, everything revolved around his needs and desires. The thought of a new suit was enticing. Could he capture even more headlines than he once did? Would his adoring public return? Bob still wanted it all, the car, the lifestyle and the fame. Bob’s need to satisfy his ego, prompted him to ask for the one thing that to Edna was unthinkable, a cape.
He didn’t learn much during his hiatus and equated his time on the sidelines as one would perceive eternity in staff meetings. It was humiliating but not humbling, a punishment and not a pruning. Bob was an achiever that could only see value in his life when the achievements were to be measured using the yardstick from a time that can never or will never return. Bob’s vision for his future was tainted by his ego. Instead of looking forward to the possibilities of the unforeseen, or even the unfathomable, a world that didn’t revolve around him, he resorted to his old ways.
Edna was a realist who saw a cape for what it was, a facade and an unnecessary trapping for the shallow and weak, but knew all too well that a cape had a way to pull even a superhero in directions that he never intended. She wasn’t willing to take the risk. Edna refused to budge, giving Bob several examples of where a cape proved to be the downfall of Bob’s peers.
Bob’s attempt to rationalize his position, Trash-Talking his comrades and blaming them, their intellect and capabilities for their demise, fell on deaf ears and was fruitless. Finally, he resorted to a defense that epitomized his ego, ”What could go wrong, I’m a superhero!” Reluctantly, he concedes. There will be no cape in his future.
In the end, it is a cape that destroys Bob’s adversary, not Bob’s superpowers. Bob is merely a participant, an active bystander who happens to be at the right place at the right time and right a wrong brought about by his arrogance and detachment.
“I knew Bob, He was a friend of mine. Trust me, you are no Bob.
Is there a Bob in your life, someone suspended between conflicting realities — unsure which reality offers hope or hardship; demands dedication or allows for fleeting desire; instills a sense of purpose and passion or harbors a spirit of pessimism or pompousness?
Are you ready to let go of the past and start anew but unsure how to engage the unknown? Can you get comfortable with a storyline written in incomplete sentences and punctuated with question marks? If so, you are in for a white-knuckle ride!
What capes are hanging in your closet?
It’s good to be back.
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I wasn’t aware of that, Ivy. When did the Incredibles 2 come out?
Al and his faithful, and cinematically astute sidekick, Ivy the Wonder Pup.
Just last year? Where have I been!