From August, 1956 through April, 1961 I controlled the traffic and streetlights in New York City and northern New Jersey.  It was a daunting task for a five-year-old, but by the summer of ‘56 I realized I had a responsibility I could not ignore. My identity and my mission were top secret.  With the exception of terse, encrypted communications to the National Security Council and the CIA, I couldn't breathe a word.

From our fifth floor living room window you could see our corner streetlight.  I don’t remember exactly how I found out about my power, but I do know that I, and I alone, controlled the changing of the traffic lights on every corner, on every street, in lower Manhattan and Union City, New Jersey.   I figured if I ever traveled to such far away places as Pennsylvania or Connecticut, I would, of course, control the traffic and streetlights there as well.  Red, yellow and green didn’t just happen by themselves; I brought them to life.  I transferred my energy to the traffic light outside my window.  My traffic light then sent an invisible lightning bolt to the top of the Empire State Building, which, in turn, gave all the other traffic and streetlights on every other street their power.  The moonbeams, of course, would drain their power during the night, and the sun sucked the rest of their juice out during the day. I had a job forever.  I was important.  I was powerful.   I was King of the Streetlights.