I always get a little nervous when I pull into a parking lot and see the flashing lights of a police car or ambulance. Clearly someting’s going down, and (unless I’m on the clock) I don’t need to be any part of it, so I have no problem turning around and peeling out to a safer location. That being said, I wasn’t sure how I should react when I saw this parked out front of the office today…
At first I was excited, as I am a fan of Batman and his extensive catalog of work (excluding Batman & Robin, of course). But then I realized Batman doesn’t usually make public appearances, so perhaps he was here on business? Could a local TV anchor have a super-villan alter ego? Perhaps The Newsmaker, who goes out into the world and creates chaos so that there will be stories for him/her to cover in the evening news? It was so stupid, it just might be true….
But of course it wasn’t, because nothing cool like that ever happens in the real world. Turns out there’s a local guy that built this sucker as a hobby, dedicating it to the men and women of the US Armed Forces. It regularly makes appearances at fundraisers and such, along with local TV morning shows.
But that’s not the guy’s only ride… He’s also got this beauty, tricked out in Fire Engine Red and dedicated to the fine folks in the line of duty for police, fire and EMT.
This one was always my favorite Batmobile. All the others seemed kinda silly, but this one was actually a car that I would be proud to drive. Tough to park, I’m sure, but when you’ve got machine guns mounted on the hood, no two-bit jerkwad is gonna be cutting me off in traffic!
A few years back I got the chance to check out the original Batmobile and chat with legendary designer George Barris. While I haven’t seen the “Forever” model in person yet, I think I can honestly say that this ride was his finest work, and while the “Begins” model has its perks (that motorcycle is pretty sweet (this replica did not have one, by the way)), this classic is flat-out Batmobile perfection.
Batman was nowhere to be seen, but I know he’s a busy guy and doesn’t have time to meet all of his fans. At least, I assume that’s why he hasn’t returned any of my letters…
The rest of the work day was much less eventful.