One of my very first memories is of when I was three years old and my friends and I played “Batman and Robin” during preschool. Everyday we would get some time to play and make arts and crafts. Aaron, Marko and I would generally play a game we would call “Batman and Robin.” I would always play Batman and Aaron would play Robin, unless it was one of the rare occasions in which Marko would get a turn. The most important part of the game, our Batmobile, was a rough, yellow papier-mâché tiger, which we would sit on and pretend to drive around.
Our game consisted of two parts, driving the Batmobile and chasing the bad guys. For the Batmobile, I would sit at the front, where it was coarse and felt like sand paper when I touched it, and pretended to drive the car. We would always start the game by pretending to press buttons on the paiper-mâché tiger to prepare for a day of fighting crime. "Atomic batteries to power," I would yell, an excruciatingly loud yell, as I did a bad job of pretending to be Batman. "Turbines to speed!" Aaron would yell, or Marko depending on who's turn it was. After we zoomed off in the Batmobile we would pretend to find and beat up some bad guys.
While playing the game we often came across the conflict of who would get to play Robin, since I was Batman and being a selfish little kid, I would refuse to play anyone else. Aaron would mostly be the one to play as Robin, and if Marko wanted to play then he would have to wait. One time, when Marko decided he wouldn't take no for an answer, he told the teacher, Maria, that we weren't letting him play. Maria asked me if I would let him be Batman, I was extremely angry at this. I was ready to kick the head of the tiger when Maria suggested that Marko play as Alfred. For some reason I did not see this as a good compromise, I saw it as stupid. Still, Marko got to play as Alfred, the butler.
The Batmobile itself was the most interesting part of our game. Apart from how silly it now seems to pretend that a lying down tiger is a car, it actually made much sense. All three of us could perfectly fit on the tiger's long, striped back. For a steering wheel we could use the head with long ears, which were always upright, being made of papier-mâché. The only downside was how rough it felt. It was as coarse as sandpaper. The only thing stopping us from being scratched by it was that we would wear long pants most of the year.
Its definitely not my first memory, but its my favourite one from preschool. Its also the only memory I have from when I was three that includes both of my best friends, who still are my best friends today. Most importantly it amazes me to look back and see that we could imagine something like a tiger was a Batmobile. I certainly couldn't have fun playing a game like that now, but even if I could I would find it ridiculous to use the tiger.
Daniel Weir En 10 D
