By Larry Gordon
Here’s an idea—purchase a really high-quality Batman costume, dress up, and visit young children at hospitals or those being treated for any number of illnesses at home, and simply bring a smile to those faces and do your best to cheer them up. And this has nothing to do with Purim or any other occasions to dress up in this fashion.
Josh Aryeh of Lawrence is the caped crusader, the mythological superhero we know and love and just cannot get enough of—Batman. Today in the Chai Lifeline and Kids of Courage and Make a Wish Foundation circles, Mr. Aryeh, 31, is well-known both for being a busy businessman as well as always being available to bring a smile to a child’s face. “Last week, I received a call at about midnight from a parent whose child was going through chemotherapy treatments,” Josh says. He did not hesitate and slipped into his handsome Batman attire, started his Nissan GTR which has been turned into a Batmobile replica, and arrived at the home at 12:30 a.m. to help this child and the family deal with the challenges and help them make it through the night.
The family was in the midst of a personal struggle, but to whatever extent possible Batman was there to ameliorate the situation. The first question posed to Josh is where does a young man come up with the idea of dedicating so much of his already crowded schedule to adapting this superhero persona?
He explains that it all started when Lenny Robinson died in a tragic accident. Mr. Robinson, a Baltimore resident, was an automobile aficionado and frequently drove around in a Lamborghini. He dressed as Batman and went to people’s homes to entertain or at least distract them from the challenges at hand. Then about three years ago, Mr. Robinson’s car broke down on a highway and, tragically, as he left the car to assess the matter, he was run over accidentally by another motorist and passed away. These events and his love of cars and chesed encouraged Mr. Aryeh to do what he does today.
Walking around or driving around in a Batmobile dressed as Batman has a way of drawing attention—sometimes of the unwanted variety—but those situations are being dealt with as well. Challenge number one is being stopped by the police and being quizzed about what exactly he is up to. Another common occurrence that Josh has addressed is the matter of walking unannounced into a hospital dressed as the caped crusader.
As Josh explains, these might be security events that need to be dealt with, but once the situation is explained, not only is all OK but, as things turn out, the result is that he is asked to do more and more visits. “I was stopped by the police recently in my Batmobile and in costume, and after a brief interrogation I was enlisted to appear at a police-sponsored event for ill children over the coming holiday season,” he says.
Walking into hospitals was another matter, as hospital security personnel are just doing their job properly when they do not allow Batman to walk past security without asking where he is going and what he is up to.
“I took a course to become a New York State chaplain, and now with my chaplain identification it is much easier to enter a hospital to entertain the children any time of day or night.” Josh may dress as a famous superhero, but his superpower is bringing cheer to children. He has visited over 4,500 sick kids.
In real life, Josh Aryeh is a partner of Fruits in Chocolate, a gourmet-chocolate industry leader with an interesting and tasty product that has taken the market by storm. They produce a unique product using the full fruit and dipping it in premium dark chocolate. We sat down last Friday morning with a huge array of product that he spread out on our conference table, which many of the 5TJT staff tasted and enjoyed. Fruits in Chocolate underwrites a good deal of Josh’s volunteer efforts that bring hope and good feeling to so many kids and their families. So not only does the product look and taste good, they are doing a whole lot of additional good as well.
When a person meets with Batman, there are some obvious questions that require asking. And I’m sure that you, the reader, are thinking the same thing—that is, where is Robin?
It may sound a little silly, but rest assured it is a serious matter. Along with Batman, there is also the Boy Wonder, Robin. Besides Batman, there are associates of Josh who often accompany him dressed as Robin, Spider-Man, and other fictional superheroes who are idolized to an extent by kids and adults alike today.
If you want to order chocolate and assist Batman in his efforts, you can do so on Instagram at “BatmanrealAccount,” or e-mail him at Josh@fruitsinchocolate.com. If people order within the next 60 days, Fruits in Chocolate will donate an additional 15% to charity from each order. Local delivery is available or you can pick up from the factory in Inwood. Does Batman have a landline in the Batcave? That’s a good unasked question. If you find out please let me know.
The Dreamliner
Even though we live five or so miles from JFK, we traveled all the way to Newark Airport for the exclusive purpose of traveling on the new 787 Dreamliner, a part of the new El Al fleet. It’s kind of like flying into West Palm Beach in order to spend a few days in Miami Beach.
But Newark is no Palm Beach. It was a quiet Sunday morning but the line for El Al seemed to include just about everyone in the airport at that hour.
It is no secret that up until now our good friends at El Al were flying mostly 40-year-old 747s and a sprinkling of 777s which are at least 20 or more years old.
The Dreamliner was a great move by the airline—certainly a way to deal with the other airlines that feature direct flights from New York to Tel Aviv. The 787s are great new planes that feature that new plane aroma that is not dissimilar to the pleasantness you are able to breathe in when you buy or lease a new car.
The good news is that everything works on these new planes—the screens, seats, lights, and so on. That was not always the case with the old planes, as you may know. It’s any odd thing but some people might say that only on an Israeli airline is it considered a bonus if everything works properly.
The Dreamliner is great and I highly recommend it. But I do not plan on traveling to Newark again to take that ride. So, message to El Al—what’s with only leaving from Newark? What does New Jersey have that New York does not?
So here’s the thing about the 787. There is no first-class section, which more often than not was empty anyway because of the prohibitive pricing in the old planes. So now in the new planes, there’s business class, which is a stepped-up, more comfortable coach class, and then just coach.
But there is something the old business class had over the new compartment in the new planes. And that is room. The cabin is furnished quite beautifully and the seat converts to a flat bed and features a much wider TV screen with a larger assortment of movies than ever before. For some reason though, the aisles in the new plane are not as wide as they were on the old planes. The obvious reason is that this is one way to pack more people into business and there are indeed many more seats in this part of the plane than there were in the past.
The great thing about the old business and first class was that while the seats have been outdated for years, there was plenty of room. Now there is a new plane, more seats, less room.
Another thing about the 787 is that the engines don’t make as much noise as the 747s and 777s. The engines rev up and you expect to hear those loud thunderous sounds of a jet engine but here on the Dreamliner it’s just an even smooth sound that does not overpower your ears or overall hearing ability.
So here is my initial assessment of the experience: Dreamliner is good; Newark, nice place to visit, perhaps, but not so fast.
Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.