Murphy Some folks have done it all. Meet Kevin Pinkney, a man of many talents and experiences, who also goes by the nicknames Batman and Chief.
The Ohio native was born in 1963, growing up there as well as in Jacksonville, Fla., where he graduated from Fletcher High School. Among his early employment was a job at a service station, where his employer saw enough potential in Pinkney to send him to school to become certified as an Automotive Service Excellence mechanic.
 |
During an additional level of training, his job would be short-lived as a result of a back injury he sustained trying to catch a radiator that was falling. Pinkney also worked at fast-food restaurants after high school.
Since age 6, he has enjoyed playing the drums. At age 14, he was asked to play at a Jacksonville Jazz Festival, which put him on stage with performers like Della Reese. Pinkney has also played with several well-known bands, including Molly Hatchet, Riot and Seville.
He stopped playing with Riot and left Los Angeles in 1989, when the band’s singer was arrested.
Flat feet kept Pinkney out of the military, but in his 30s he worked as a part-time bounty hunter. He was asked by a criminal defense attorney if he’d be willing to train to be a bounty hunter so he could work for the attorney, finding people charged with crimes who failed to shop up for court.
After approaching one person who was wanted for jumping bail, the man pulled out a firearm and threatened him. When Pinkney let the man know the firepower he possessed, and what it could do to him, the individual put his gun down and surrendered. The wages for the bounty hunter that day made for a nice paycheck.
Today, he is a hairstylist and barber at Walmart in Murphy. The man dressed in black and wielding shears isn’t difficult to spot. Pinkney is friendly and full of life stories.
He enjoys reading books by authors like John Grisham and Anne Rice. He also likes animals and loves his blue and gold, 32-year-old macaw, Zuse, and his 28-year-old nanday conure, Dusti.
 |
When Pinkney was caring for his mother, she would tell him that she had to go to the bathroom. Zuse picked up on that, telling Pinkney, “I have to go to the bathroom.”
The bird also likes to play in the bathroom, often saying to Pinkney, “Bath time,” when he is allowed to climb the shower door and play in the water.
In the next 10 years, he hopes to be able to move back home to Jacksonville Beach, Fla., where he would like to get a part-time job working in the zoo. The lover of animals has owned dogs, cats and bats.
Pinkney is a collector of toys
as well, possessing trucks, tractor-trailers, comic books and items from Batman, Star Trek and Star Wars.
Adding to his fun and interesting resume of life, Pinkney is also a history buff. He would like to one day travel to Salem, Mass., where witches were once feared and killed.
The advice the multi-talented Christian man said he would give others is, “Always follow your dreams – chase them until they come true.”
Do you know someone who has an is interesting story to share? Let the Cherokee Scout tell it to the community. Please email the person’s name, phone number and brief information to anngeeq@gmail.com.
Special people deserve a few minutes in the spotlight.