Back in the summer we bought tickets to Six Flags Over Georgia, a theme park in Atlanta.  Events conspired against us and we were unable to go.  With the park set to close for the year on October 31st, we made plans to go before losing the investment altogether.

Six Flags is on a scale with, say, Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.  It is big with lots of things to do.  You can find everything from heart stopping roller coasters to funnel cakes.  Sasha, our 11 year-old adopted daughter, had never seen anything like it.  As you might expect, we hit the usual rides and saw as much as we could in the time available to us.  But it was a chance meeting that made the biggest impression on Sasha.

One part of the park is called “Gotham City.”  It is themed around the Batman movies—a replica of the 1960s TV show Bat Mobile, a ride, and a cast of costumed characters.  As we sat waiting for Lauri and the boys, Sasha spotted her hero.  “Batman!” Sasha exclaimed, pointing at him.

I have often felt sorry for the people who have to wear these silly outfits.  But to his credit, this fellow played the part with relish.

“Hi there, little girl,” he said.  If you have seen the newer Batman movies, you should try to imagine this incarnation of the superhero doing his best Christian Bale-as-Batman imitation: a scratchy, whispered baritone.

“How are you?” she asked with complete sincerity.

“I am fine.”  His eyes scanned the perimeter as if looking for his arch-nemeses the Joker, the Riddler, or the Penguin.

“Where is Superman?” she looked around, too.

“He’s in outer space lookin’ for bad guys.”  Batman seemed grave.

She found this reasonable.  “Where is Spiderman?”

“He doesn’t live in Atlanta.  This is my city.”  Batman put his hands on his Bat Belt.

This, too, seemed perfectly reasonable.

“There is your car!” she pointed at the plastic Bat Mobile.

He nodded and gave a cool smile.  “Yeah.  That’s my ride.”

After a photo Batman, in a dramatic gesture, swept his cape broadly and moved on with the sense of purpose common to all superheroes.  Behind him, wide eyed, Sasha stood admiringly.  She looked at me and said quietly, but with some emphasis, “That was Batman.”