There's something about small (and to be honest big) boys that makes them magnetically attracted to modes of transport. Most guys I know have a list of 10 cars they would buy if they won the lottery. Most girls I know don't - some do but they are very much in the minority. It's no great coincidence that Top Gear is presented by three blokes who (apart from questionable taste in shirts) are about as normal as you get.
It doesn't just extend to cars though; motorbikes, planes, trains and boats all have their following of beardy anorak types. Details will be discussed by like minded chaps across the land.
What brought this observation to mind was an incident at work the other day. At work there is a helipad. As I was walking into the building a couple of days back, a helicopter decided to land; much to the delight of the small boy who was heading in the opposite direction (with his parents I should add) who stood, rooted to the spot watching events unfold. I know this because I was doing something similar! It's pretty cool to have a helicopter land less than 100ft away. What made his day (and got 'Awwwww' points even from an old cynic like me) was when the crew of the helicopter beckoned him over to have a look round the aircraft. Naturally his eyes were out on stalks; he looked like all his Christmases had come at once.
I noticed this phenomenon a couple of years ago too when, as a volunteer with St. John Ambulance, I used to show kids round our vehicles during quiet times. I thought it was decent PR, would give the parents a bit of a break and maybe bag me some cute points with any passing girls. To a child the way the reacted to the vehicles could be predicted by the gender. The girls would be in the back looking at all the equipment and asking what the variously shaped and coloured bits of kit did. The boys; well they were straight into the driver's seat turning the wheel and asking if they could turn the blue lights on!
I can't claim to be too dissimilar. I joined St. John partly to keep my first aid knowledge up to date, partly to actually get to treat people, partly to increase my clinical skills and techniques and also because I knew they had a fleet of blue light ambulances and I rather fancied driving on lights and sirens. Before you go stamping me with a 'boy racer' label I should say that I'm naturally a fairly cautious driver. I even failed a test for being too cautious. Still driving well and driving quickly appeals (without being reckless of course). When pushed I'm willing to bet that most emergency drivers will - in a quiet moment - admit they like driving fast.
It doesn't just end there though. Such is my desire to know how to operate moving vehicles that I secretly quite fancy getting my motorbike and my HGV licence just because then I could say I could drive bikes on trucks. This is despite the fact that I am too scared to get a motorbike and I have no intention of ever becoming a trucker. And I'm not alone. For further evidence look no further than Rowan Atkinson, who even incorporated his truck licence into a Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch. Another example would be a friend of my dad's who is a media consultant by day but also retains his bus licence and does tours of the Highlands just because he loves driving buses.
Anyway, that's my observation for today. It is all completely anecdotal of course but I think it's vaguely true.
JR
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