Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Hero DC Deserves

image Lenny B Robinson of Baltimore County, MD is just like you or I. He has a normal day job, a loving family, and unfortunately may occasionally get pulled over while out driving. The thing is, when you or I get pulled over it doesn’t usually make headline news.

You might have already heard about Lenny last week and not even known it; Robinson was the mysterious man who lit up the national media after a run in with Montgomery county police officers in which he was stopped while driving a black Lamborghini and wearing a fully functional $5000 Batman costume.

Robinson isn’t some over-indulgent comic book fan who just wanted to show off on the road, though. He’s a 48 year old self-made businessman who spends considerable time and money every month to give back to his community. Since 2001 Maryland’s very own caped crusader had been visiting area hospitals to talk with sick children and hand out Batman toys, and speaking to students at local schools about bullying.

While spending time at a DC children’s hospital Robinson makes a deliberate effort to give his full attention to every child he meets. He offers them words of strength and the support of someone who is to them larger than life. Before he leaves at the end of the day Robinson makes sure that there weren’t any children who were unable to come out of their rooms to see him. For many of these kids who have been stuck in the hospital for weeks or months, a visit from Batman can turn another difficult day into one of hope and excitement.

It isn’t the mask that makes Robinson special; it’s the man underneath it. Anyone can go buy a costume and pretend to be a superhero, but it takes so much more to do what Robinson does.

It takes a real hero.

To read the full story on Mr. Robinson and the amazing work he does, check out this fantastic article from the Washington Post: http://ow.ly/9XN5m

Photos: Allen Goldberg

-Alex Cutler

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