PBW: Herbies

Photo Blog Wednesday

When I was a little boy, I referred to any Volkswagon Beetle as a “Herbie”. My friends(and enemies) had a different name for them, and it was a bewildered young MCF that often got hit when one of them inexplicably shouted, ”PUNCH BUGGY!!!” My name for them came of course from the movie The Love Bug which, while a little before my time, would air occasionally as the Sunday night Disney movie. I had the paperback adaptation which I read cover to cover many times, and I also had the book for Herbie Goes Bananas. I'm not certain if I ever saw the film for the latter, but I read the book enough times to think I had. Apparently, there were a few other sequels and remakes I haven't seen as well. As I got older, I started calling Beetles Bumblebee or Cliffjumper. Of course, that earned me some punches as well from anyone in earshot. Eventually, I learned to call the cars by name or simply not at all. The novelty eventually wore off, or was beaten out of me.

I don't really have a strong desire to see Herbie: Fully Loaded in theaters, but the nostalgia factor is just high enough that I may rent it when it comes out on DVD. On Saturday, we had about five or six hours to kill between performances in Brooklyn, so we came back home for a bit. After dropping off the trumpet player at his car, I could swear I saw Herbie parked in front of a tire store. When we passed by a few hours later on our way back, he was gone, but I knew what I saw, even if my dad had no idea what I was talking about. I couldn't believe he didn't remember Herbie, and he actually thought I meant a saxophone player from another band we're in who goes by the same name. I can't WAIT to be 75.

I returned on Sunday with my digital camera, and there he was. Replica or one of the actual cars used for the movie, I do not know. I didn't care. I parked in the next lot and casually walked down the sidewalk, then got my shots. As I made my escape, the oddness of the paparazzi approach struck me. This wasn't a celebrity and likely NOT an original model. There were no signs forbidding photography, yet there I was being blatantly subtle. It was there to promote the store and draw in customers; they put it out front for people to look at. My tendency to always be strange FIRST aside, I got some cool shots despite the overcast weather. Enjoy!