METROPOLITAN DIARY
Captain America
Dear Diary:
Things weren’t going so well in my acting career, and I was desperate — so desperate that I went to an audition where I had to dress up as Captain America and sing the national anthem.
The job, which paid $400, was not at a sporting event or anything remotely as cool as that, but for the grand opening of a used-car dealership in the Bronx.
At the audition, I put on the costume and sang the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I guess I looked the part and sang well enough because I was offered the gig.
After saying my thank-yous, I hurried out and stripped off the outfit like it was on fire. When I got to the elevator, there was a tall, wiry young man waiting there.
We nodded to each other politely.
“Captain America?” he asked after a moment.
“Yeah,” I replied weakly, head down and feeling as though I had hit rock bottom.
He smiled and excitedly stuck out his hand.
“I’m Spiderman!”
— Jack Mulcahy
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/17/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html
