I Must Slip The Batman a Fin
by Steven Gowin
The Batman says it's his birthday. I take him at his word.
You can't ignore someone in sequined homburg, mask, cape, and crusader garb from the Halloween SuperStore.
The boys and I are having dinner in Los Angeles... that part downtown outfitted with lots of neon and enormous LED screens... the Shibuya wanna be. No Angelino ventures here.
But we're from up coast, the cold fog, and tonight happy for warm outdoor dining. Batman wanders about, on the other side of the low patio fence. He's doing alright, a couple of bucks here, a handful of coin there, but he moves lost, his body hesitant to go where he wants, hitched in his giddyup.
You've no choice. Once you see him, you're an accomplice. It's OK. What bad can come from intercourse with a hero of justice? Engage, I say, and I say, I like your outfit, Mr. The Batman. The Caped Crusader nods a bit, muddled and befuddled, drugs and a haywire brain very likely at work.
My kids say, Do not talk to The Batman. These college boys believe I am condescending and mean. Public transit, that petri dish of urban crazies, has sensitized them. They recognize nutsos and kindly leave the deranged alone. They can better cope with a Batman than I.
But I know the distance between The Batman and me, and appreciate it. Certainly he lives more natural than I. A natural man, he knows his role, The Caped Panhandler. He's looking for a dollar here or there, spare change, nothing more or less... always alive in the instant.
Tonight, he's ventured on this wild quest with only his glitter hat and his mask and his Batman outfit, stretched and stained... sometimes alms are burritos... and now security is asking him to leave. Shinjuku does not permit hobo Batmen.
They've laid hands on his person and are herding him back to the Bat Cave. But victorious with his few bucks, he'll stop at the Kim Brothers' on Grand for a quart of St. Ides or head west to Alvarado for bump or smack or whatever takes him home again, a hero.
I wish him a happy happy birthday day and run behind his security escort. Before he's gone, I must slip The Batman a fin.
|
17
favs |
1730 views
26 comments |
392 words
All rights reserved. |
Author's Note
The kids and I have been listening to Bill Moyers podcasts with Joseph Campbell. They have me thinking about heroes and natural men.
Other stories by Steven Gowin
Tags
This story has no tags.
Beautiful. It IS his birthday, after all. And he IS Batman, and made the extra effort. I liked best the narrator's taking him at face value, but knowing better as well. And the narrator's sons as a counterpoint, more urban-seasoned than the narrator, but missing out on something important here. Yes, a fin seems about right.
What a way you have for capturing the precise moment, precisely. And with such heart. Fav.
http://myplace.frontier.com/~earth2mongo/bat.jpg
Favorite!
Love.* I would have done the same, AND I would have embarrassed my kids in the same way. I'm an expert at embarrassing them when I speak to perfect strangers in public places. They'll get over it.
Very nice, Mr. G.
So real. Here's to not living in fear. Peace *
Sir, you paint a word picture I can wonder about and think about and puzzle over.
That, for me, is what writing should do. Thank you.
finely wrought, steven. love the homburg!***
Exquisite capture, here, Steve.
Fave, Steven. You touch me with this. A lot.
Great, great, great, Steven.
"Tonight, he's ventured on this wild quest with only his glitter hat and his mask and his Batman outfit, stretched and stained... sometimes alms are burritos... and now security is asking him to leave. Shinjuku does not permit hobo Batmen."
Well done. *
Fave, Stephen. A moving piece.
"Public transit, that petri dish of urban crazies, has sensitized them."*
"You have no choice once you have seen him you are an accomplice." This is the defining sentence. Very nice story Steven. You had me thinking for a good while.
the fin idea, for myself was too distracting. I was hung up on that when it really is only a word. The rest is vivid and fluid.
Don't know what took me so long to find this...glad I did.
Cool and poignant. Kudos!
Your imagination is so powerfully used throughout this piece. I found it very emotional, without your plan for that.
Fave.
Nice, Steven. I ran into a guy dressed as Spiderman the other day. He was riding around Hoboken, NJ in a tiny scooter.
fave!
I may have seen Batman, on the nod.
Very nice, has put me in a different place in thinking about "others," those I might avoid connecting to as not knowing what to think. Maybe I can be more bold because of this. Or relaxed and enjoying the freedom of it. Thanks.
This is great. We all need a hero. *
Thanks for brightening a turgid innercity drizzly Monday morning caffeine can't seem to cure.
What a natural freeflowing sound there is in your telling of a story or anecdote. And a big-heartedness that shines through the words.
"Do not talk to The Batman" HA! A great little piece. FAV
I like the slight melancholy note this strikes. A carefully balanced and weighted piece.
This is wonderful. I wholly identify. *