Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
I've come to a difficult realization: I'm Hermione in the Harry Potter series. Yes, that's me, the nerdy girl hanging out with the guys. I've even got the wild hair, especially on a humid day.
I imagined for awhile I might be like Harry Potter. After all, I have the unusual birthmark and all. But no, I'm Hermione. That's a definite.
Come to think of it, if I were in the Superman series, I'd be Jimmy Olson, the photographer with the sunny disposition and the old camera. (Yes, I have a 1970s Pentax, and yes, I still use it.)
Much as I'd like to be the main character, I'm afraid it's not in my destiny. If I were in the Xena series, I'd be Gabrielle. I'd be her in the later seasons, though, where she actually gets to kick some bad guy butt.
If I were a movie star, I'd be the funny friend. In other words, I'd be playing the Janeane Garofalo part. Or the Joan Cusack part.
On Friends, I'd be Phoebe. On Seinfeld, I'd be Elaine. On Lassie, I'd be Jimmy, who as everyone knows, was Lassie's sidekick.
I came to this conclusion recently when I realized how many wonderful stories I have to tell, and how many of them are actually observations of the strange and colorful characters I've come to know over the years.
Maybe I'm the main character in someone else's story, but in mine I'm the One Who Tells the Tale, who as any Faulkner fan knows is far less interesting. I'm the person who, in a horror movie, would survive. But I wouldn't be the one who fought the monster; I'd be the one watching with saucer eyes from the corner.
I guess I'm okay with my sidekick status; after all, as the One Who Tells the Tale, I get to take certain liberties with the telling. The writer of history is the one who determines it, right? So I should be happy with my role, which at least guarantees a sort of eternity. And it's in my hands to provide eternity to those colorful, wonderful people who surround me. Ah! Power!
Perhaps, when you think about it, it's even a truer form of power than the main characters get. After all, nobody would know about them if not for the One Who Tells the Tale. I wouldn't be Jesus; I'd be one of the disciples leaving behind the tale of our mutual journey. And it would be my words that would introduce this great person to everyone else.
That's a blessing, when you think about it. And lately, I'm feeling pretty blessed.
Moral:
Sidekicks are people, too.
Copyright
2003 by Alyce Wilson
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