Not long after I first got said jacket, it helped me to get into a display at Autorama in March. Three versions of the Batmobile, from the 1960’s Bill Dozier TV show, from the 1989 Tim Burton film and from the recent Christopher Nolan films, were on display at Cobo Hall in Detroit as a part of the show.
I volunteered to cover the show, simply so I could get in to take photos of them. I wore the jacket, those who know me know that I rarely wear a jacket of any kind, so it was a special occasion. After finding the display, and seeing that no one was working the booth, I removed my identification badges, and stepped over the “Do Not Cross” tape into the display. I had set up my video camera to roll so I could take photos off the video later, and walked over next to the car.
Not only did no one stop me, but some also assumed because of the jacket that I was working the booth and asked me questions. I quickly got photos of myself with the cars and got out of there before anyone questioned what I was doing.
That was the first strike for the Batjacket. Fast forward to the middle of last week. It had gotten cold out so I grabbed the jacket before leaving the house. Not because I intended to wear it, but just in case it was needed. Not wanting to leave it in the car, I put it on before walking into Allen Park City Hall for an interview with the city’s emergency manager, Joyce Parker, and the city administrator, Karen Folkes.
I had a lot of things to chat with them about. It had been a couple of months since I had sat down with them to catch up on things going on in the city.
Folkes was running late, but Parker was ready when I arrived. When I was taking off the jacket to hang it over a chair, Parker mentioned that she liked it, which I hear a lot, but often dismiss as people just being nice.
Before I could say thanks and start into the interview, she pushed on that she preferred Marvel Comics over DC, the company that produces Batman.
That put me into complete shock and awe; it was a comment that completely blindsided me. Never did I dream that she was a comic book nerd like myself. That kicked off a brief conversation on all things comics and the movies that have dominated the box office for more than a decade now.
I discovered that she enjoys the movies and “never misses” them, as she said. We even talked about the recently released “Thor: The Dark World,” which I had seen, and she was hoping to see over the weekend.
With that common ground in hand, the rest of the interview went well, one of the better interviews I’ve had with her since she took over day-to-day operations of the city in October 2012.
Now I can’t wait for the next time we have to talk, so I can see what she thought about the movie and to see what the next movie on her radar is.
The Batjacket struck again, no one knows when next it shall help me in a personal or professional manner.
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