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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Thursday&rsquo;s visit by President Donald Trump was impressive, to say the least.
				First of all, the President himself is impressive &mdash; he&rsquo;s very tall &mdash; 6-foot-3.
				And he arrived on Air Force One &mdash; the largest airplane I have ever seen.
				And then there was &ldquo;The Beast&rdquo; &mdash; the presidential limousine.
				And then there was the impressive crowd that lined the streets of Old Forge to wait for the motorcade to drive by. They held signs, they wore Trump MAGA hats and they shouted and cheered the 45th president of the United States.
				Like Trump or not, you have to be impressed by the crowd, the car and the airplane.
				This was a spectacular show from start to finish. There were 300 people at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport to greet the President, his plane and his car.
				There were another 300-plus at Mariotti Building Products to listen to the President hour-long speech.
				And there were thousands in the streets.
				And Trump even managed to grab five trays of pizza at Arcaro & Genell in Old Forge for the trip back to Washington.
				That got me hankering for some pizza and maybe one beer.
				So I tried to get some information about &ldquo;The Beast,&rdquo; but understandably, the Secret Service keeps a pretty tight lid on divulging anything about the big limo.
				But there is Google and off I went to see what I could find.
				I found several internet sites that offered details about $1.5 million limo.
				For instance:
				&#8226; The body is covered in military grade armour at least five inches thick.
				&#8226; The doors are armoured-plated, 8 inches thick and the weight of a cabin door of a Boeing 757 jet. When closed they form a 100% seal to protect the occupants in the event of even a chemical attack. They can also be electrified to prevent intruders.
				&#8226; The windows have five layers of glass and poly-carbonate. They can withstand armour-piercing bullets. None but the driver&rsquo;s window can open, that too by only three inches.
				&#8226; The chassis has reinforced steel plates to protect the vehicle from bomb attacks.
				&#8226; The Kevlar-reinforced tires are shred and puncture resistant with steel rims underneath. This enables the car to run even in case the tires are destroyed.
				&#8226; The rear compartment seats the President and up to four passengers with glass partition. Only the President has access to a switch to lower it. The car also has a panic button as well as its own oxygen supply.
				&#8226; The President&rsquo;s seat at the rear has a satellite phone with a direct line to the Vice President and the Pentagon.
				&#8226; The fuel tank is armoured-plated and filled with a special foam that prevents it from exploding even after being involved in a crash.
				&#8226; The boot part of the vehicle has a firefighting system, tear gas and smoke-screen dispensers.
				&#8226; The chauffeur is specially trained to handle crisis situations and escape with the President
				&#8226; The car is armed with pump-action shotguns and tear gas cannons.
				&#8226; Bags of the President&rsquo;s blood type are kept on board in case he needs a transfusion.
				&#8226; The driver&rsquo;s compartment has a communications centre and a GPS tracking system.
				&#8226; At the front, under the grille is a hidden camera with night-vision facility.
				&#8226; The chauffeur is specially trained by the U.S. Secret Service to cope with the most demanding of driving conditions, including escape and evasion and a 180-degree J-turn.
				&#8226; It can also lay down an oil slick to prevent vehicles from chasing it.
				And &ldquo;The Beast&rdquo; can weave through a town like Old Forge and stop on a dime to allow the President to pick up his pizza.

Beyond the Byline: ‘The Beast’ is the President’s ride