Watch John Adams Before It Becomes History

John Adams
HBO
Sundays
5 scoops of Bosco (out of 5)

Reviewed By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco

The thing about historical television mini-series and docudramas is that we usually know what is going to happen. In the case of John Adams we already know the story. Colony, looking for it's freedom, struggles to break free from World Power and succeeds...and they live happily ever after. The devil is in the details and how you convey the story.

The material in John Adams (Sundays on HBO) was covered nicely in a great Mini-series in 1976 on PBS called the Adams Chronicles. But bring in great actors of today, mixed with the enthusiasm of Executive Producer Tom Hanks, a great book by David McCullough, a wonderful screenplay by Kirk Ellis and the best cinematography and filmmaking seen on television under the direction of Tom Hooper, well, then, you have something really special.

I wouldn't have thought to cast Paul Giamatti as the main subject, but Giamatti shows why he is one of the best actors working today with his understated and reserved portrayal of the country's second President. The chemistry between Laura Linney who plays Abigail Adams and Giamatti is wonderful and special. After all, a big part of the story of John Adams is his great love affair with his wife. The real letters between the two when they were apart are a blessing because they provide us with intimate details of the time and circumstances as well as much of the story of McCullough's book and this seven part television series.

The viewer really gets a sense of the greatness, wisdom, and the flaws of the founding fathers as they struggled with the issues involved in starting a new nation. None is more vivid in Giamatti's portrayal of Adams when he decides, as a lawyer, to take on the case of the British Redcoats after the Boston Massacre to demonstrate that this nation needed to allow for a fair trial for all.

This series could not have come at a better time for HBO. It seems that Showtime has been routinely kicking HBO's butt after The Sopranos 86ed. With the rating failures of such shows as John From Cincinatti and Tell Me You Love Me, HBO was in need of a hit to go against the Showtime jugernaut with such shows in the stable as Dexter, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, Weeds, and The Tutors. They get it here.

Three of the Seven Episodes of John Adams have already aired. Catch up by watching the first three on HBO On Demand.

Irvine Lake Blues Fest Lineup Announced

Coco Montoya jams at the 2007 Irvine Lake Blues Festival. The 2008 Lineup for the Bosco-sponsored event has been announced.

BOSCO and Artistic Expressions have been added as sponsors at the Tenth Annual Irvine Lake Blues Festival Sunday, June 29 in Silverado, Southern California.

This year's lineup includes Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, Eric Sardinas, Savage City, Les Dudek, Walter Trout, and Roy Gaines. More may be added as the festival draws closer.

Bosco Magazine will feature the artists at the festival in the weeks leading up to the event. Look for reviews of their latest albums as well as videos and audio on Bosco TV: The Music Channel and Bosco Radio: The Music Channel

"I have been a big fan of this blues festival and the blues for a longtime and am pleased to be one of the sponsors this year," said Allen Bacon, editor of BOSCO.

Tickets are available through www.ticketweb.com and at Irvine Lake.

Baseball: Of Moon Shots and Vin Scully

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco

Baseball returns to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time in nearly fifty years for a one time exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox Saturday night (7 PM PST Bosco Radio: The Sports Channel). Over 133,000 tickets have been sold for the event.

The only problem is that the Los Angeles Coliseum was never designed to host a baseball game. It’s not an all purpose stadium. The seats don’t come out or magically pull back to make a baseball field. It was built for track and field or soccer or football or Bruce Springsteen concerts or Promise Keepers Conventions…. but not baseball. Maybe over the line or homerun derby…but not real baseball. Before the Los Angeles Dodgers took over Chavez Ravine, they didn’t have any place to play ball after they deserted Brooklyn (or depending on who you believe… Brooklyn deserted them). Little LA Wrigley field or Hollywood’s Gilmore Field wouldn’t accommodate the demand for the Dodgers.

Down near the USC campus was this huge edifice with a lot of seats. So the Dodgers decided to play there. Never mind that it was not even 250 feet down the left field fence or that you might as well have been sitting in the garment district in some places because the seats were so far away….it had over 100,000 seats and the Dodgers saw the possibilities to make a ton of money off Major League baseball-starved Southern California.

What is it about putting a sport in a place where it is not supposed to be makes it such an attraction? When the NHL played a game outdoors in the snow at Buffalo’s Rich Stadium over 100,000 came out in the sub-zero temperatures and the game had one of the biggest television ratings ever a few months ago. Actually that’s how hockey is supposed to be played…outdoors on frozen ponds. But baseball in football only stadiums is just weird.



The people that were around in the late 50’s to go to the baseball games at the Coliseum will tell you about the wonderful hotdogs or the fact that this sub-par ballplayer Wally Moon became an overnight sensation by learning how to poke a homerun over the short wall. The dimensions would also conversely serve to stifle a great player…Duke Snider who couldn’t get use to the configuration of the Coliseum and couldn’t hit it over the vast center field and right field walls. The Dodgers would actually go on to win a World Series in 1959 at the Coliseum against the White Sox.


But they will mainly tell you about their love affair with Vin Scully. The Dodger fans got a bonus when they moved from Brooklyn…they got the greatest baseball announcer and story teller of all time. Vin Scully calls a game like he is telling a story. Each inning is a chapter and you want to stick around to see how the story is going to end.

In those days, everybody would take their transistor radio to the game with no ear plugs. With all those radios on at the same time in the Coliseum it sounded like Vin Scully was actually the public address announcer. When Vin told a joke, the entire stadium would erupt in laughter…When the Dodgers clinched the National League title in 1959, Vin had a simultaneous call of the Giants game up at Seal Park in San Francisco. So when the Giants beat the Phillies on that day, and Scully announced the score the entire stadium knew and they cheered wildly.

Last Thursday night, my Angels played the Dodgers in an exhibition game in Anaheim. Usually I would turn my radio on to Rory Markus and Terry Smith on the Angel Broadcast. But this night I wanted to hear Vin Scully again. He was in mid-season form. With being in his 70’s now….. I wondered how many more games we have with Vinny before he decides to hang up his microphone.

The Kiss of Death For Tommy Udo

Richard Widmark, who is probably best remembered for his disturbing portrayal of a giggling psychopathic killer in the 1947 film "Kiss of Death" died Wednesday at the age of 93.

Widmark who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Tommy Udo in the film noir "Kiss of Death" had an extremely successful and long career in radio, film and television.

Kobayashi's Latest Album Sets The Standard

Ron Kobayashi Trio
Of Standards, Be-Bop and Swing
Carpet Cat Records
5 heaping tablespoons of Bosco
(Out of 5)

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco

Ron Kobayashi, the hardest working man in Jazz, has always impressed with his original straight ahead jazz and fusion. And he always trys to put a different spin on each album. In the last album No Preservatives, for instance, he recorded the entire album without dubbing or editing. What you hear is exactly what his partners drummer Steve Dixon and bassist Baba Elefante put down.

In the latest, Of Standards, Be-Bop and Swing, the Ron Kobayashi Trio delivers their takes on the Standards from the jazz era of the 1940's and 1950's. The result is one of the best albums of classic Be-Bop and Swing that you are ever going to hear.

Sometimes one really doesn't truly appreciate an artist until they tackle the known standards. This is the case here. Kobayashi, who has given us a large library of excellent original music, really shines along with Elefante and Dixon here with other's material.

Right from track one, in the Kobayashi arrangement of Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train", you realize this isn't going to be your garden-variety jazz standards album.

Of Standards, Be-Bop and Swing was a request by Kobayashi's father and mother, long-time Southern California residents and jazz lovers Roy and Irene Kobayashi. It was Ron's father Roy that suggested the lineup on this album which includes the Rodgers-Hammerstein tunes "Younger Than Springtime" and "All the Things You Are", Cole Porter's "Night and Day", "Over the Rainbow", Charlie Parker's "Anthropology", the Heusen-Burke composition "Imagination", Neal Hefti's "Cute", "I'll Remember April", "Taking a Chance on Love" and Gerry Mulligan's "Elevation".

Joining the trio, who has now been together for sixteen years...(seems like only yesterday when we were watching and listening to them at the old Melody Inn in North Orange County), is longtime vocal collaborator and wonderful vocalist Debbi Ebert as well as the respected jazz sax and flautist Ernie Del Fante.

The Ron Kobayashi Trio can be seen the first Tuesday of every month at Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe in Fullerton, CA. They can also be seen at Oysters in Corona Del Mar, CA every Friday night and at Bistango Restaurant in Irvine, CA every Saturday night. He is currently working on putting together a collaboration with legendary jazz cellist Fred Katz.

Pick up the album through www.carpetcat.com, Artistic Expressions in Fullerton, CA (714.990.4ART), or through Bosco:The Record Store for $14.95 + shipping. (Request at boscotheblog@earthlink.net)

NCAA Hoops Tourney Coverage Has It Flaws

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

When it comes to covering a sports event, CBS television really gets it right when they do the NCAA Basketball tournament every year.

Regional coverage of the teams from your area, mixed with bonus coverage of other games in progress orchestrated by a team of experts from their headquarters explaining where you are going and giving comprehensive analysis...what's not to like?

The first two days of the tournament are crazy....32 games in two games...and CBS has a broadcast team and facilities at every site to be at every single one of those games.

Last year CBS started something that I hope catches on in other sports. CBS offered every single game of the tournament for free on the internet on CBS.com. And they make money doing it. Ad revenue is up over last year again from this service . MLB are you listening? NFL are you listening? English Premiere Soccer are you listening? You see, the National Hockey League is even ahead of the three aforementioned leagues because they offer all their games for free over the internet. I can listen to any game at any time on the web over NHL.com. But I digress...

Utilizing the same idea, Westwood One Radio does an excellent job on the radio side with the NCAA Basketball tournament as well but in one sense they do something better...they go to the most compelling games at the time. On Thursday night, Westwood One didn't stick with the UCLA game as they were blowing out a 16 seed in Anaheim. Tommy Tigue and the guys got us out to close games involving Arizona and in Omaha where Cal State Fullerton was making it interesting against Wisconsin.

I couldn't say that about the CBS television west coast coverage. They continued to stay with the UCLA laugher longer than they should have. Even when you could see the fans leaving the Honda Center in droves they refused to leave the game. They would only switch to the Arizona game during breaks. A note to CBS: I don't care if UCLA is our market team, we don't enjoy watching them beat up on some team like St. Mary's Sister of Mercy. We want potential buzzer beaters and drama with our basketball.

Listen to coverage of the tournament on Bosco Radio: Sports Channel

My Old Black Reeboks: 2006-2008: RIP

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

I buried an old friend last week. Since I love to walk, my most intimate and closest friend is my pair of black Reebok walking shoes. This type of shoe has been my constant companion for the past 20 years. I just purchased my eighth pair last week. Something about the ugliness of the shoe with the functionality of the shoe always makes it my choice.

When I retire a pair of black Reeboks it’s always a little sad because I start thinking of all the places I walked in those shoes. This pair was a little more special than the others.

This is the pair of shoes I lost 40 pounds with. The very first trip I made with these shoes was on a train ride to Chicago from Fullerton and into Omaha on the Zephyr for the 2006 College Baseball World Series. I spent a lot of time walking around places like Galesburg, Illinois the home of the Lincoln-Douglass debates (where my train was delayed for about 8 hours), Omaha, Nebraska from Rosenblatt Stadium to the beautiful revamped downtown area and around the outskirts and in places along the way like Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento where I walked from my hotel to the Riverwalk and the stadium to see the Sacramento Rivercats play against the San Jose Giants.

I also walked 50 miles of Route 66 in California in these shoes. Driving it by car is cool, especially if it is in a vintage car, but when you slow down to walking the road it’s a little more special. I touched the road in Pasadena and felt the vibration coming from Chicago. I stopped and talked to a lot of wonderful people in these shoes along the mother road. I saw a lot of interesting things too that I would have missed if I drove by or even rode by on a bicycle.

These were the shoes I walked 45 miles in San Francisco and up and down the train that took me from Fullerton to Seattle this past December. On the same trip I walked 25 miles around the Puget Sound area of Washington, walked with my good friends Mark and Greg through the town of Eugene while they shared with me stories and the history of the town and shared some of the wonderful theatres and restaurants. On this same trip my shoes took me through Anchorage and a six mile walk every day for a week in the sub-zero weather of Kotzebue.

I had several walks with my dog Malone through the streets and parks of my hometown Fullerton in these shoes as well as several walks and talks with my two kids. Walking is a good way to talk and work out things. My Reeboks heard every word. And this doesn’t even mention the several miles I logged around my office and shop.

There were other walks around North County in these shoes including a big stretch down the Santa River trail from Orange to Norco.

The last hurrah for these Reeboks was my walk/run of the 2008 LA Marathon. I almost retired them before the Marathon. So I had a talk with my shoes. “Do you still have enough left to go 26.2 miles?” The tips of the shoes were starting to come apart and the tread was getting worn. But the old Reeboks were up to the challenge and they kept me comfortable for the entire trip. They didn’t let me down. Again.

What adventures await my new Reeboks?...The new kids on the block. I’ll let you know here. Stay tuned.

Five Years and Over 4000 Deaths Later

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

It's hard to believe that the War in Iraq turns five years old this week.

I will not enter an opinion over if this war is the right and just thing to do. The readers are more than welcome to weigh in on this. The reason why I've decided not to do this myself is because any questioning of the current administration's stand could be misconstrued as non-support of our brave men and women who have put their lives on the line for the rest of us.

The men and women in our Armed Services are far better than me. I would not be a good soldier. I know that about myself. I don't have what it takes to be a soldier. It takes a very special person to do this. Keep in mind none of our soldiers are sent there against their will. This is a volunteer effort now. While the rest of us have the freedom to do whatever we want in this country, we need to keep in mind the men and women that have made that possible, whether it be the close to 4000 soldiers that have died over the past five years or all the soldiers that have died in the past wars.

I want to believe our current Commander In Chief had just reason for sending our brave men and women into harms way in Iraq. And since he is the Commander in Chief we should in theory support his decision. If we don't support that, we really don't support our troops and we look bad to the rest of the world. That doesn't mean we shouldn't constantly analyze our current position against the original objective... whatever it was. We need to always do this and make adjustments if necessary. And maybe that means we call it a day in Iraq.

So on this five year anniversary of the war in Iraq, I want to urge our readers not to forget our men and women in harms way fighting for our freedom. Recently I was sent a "chain letter" which was an excellent photo essay on our soldiers. Usually I don't pay attention to chain letters but because the friend that sent it to me never had sent me anything like it in the whole time I have known her, I paid attention and I was touched. I am going to show some of these photos and message over the next few days. If you've seen it, you know what I am talking about. If you have not seen it, I want you to use it to reflect and remember our brave men and women.

Dancing With The Stars: Night One Review

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

Night One of Dancing With the Stars Season Six had few surprises. The evening focused on the men dancers and the competition is shaping up almost the way I saw it (see the BOSCO February issue) when the field was first announced.

With one exception. Mario looked the best out of the men last night on the dance floor. He has charisma and he picked up the dance steps well. I surmised that he would do well due to the choreography of his R&B shows. And this was despite his coach missing a few days due to surgery.

I still think by the end of the show Jason Taylor, the NFL player, will improve and be competitive. He has that determination and the discipline to succeed. He had a good first dance and the judges seemed to like him. He looks great and moves surprisingly well for a big man.

Christian De La Fuente will improve also. Like Taylor and Mario, I love his excitement for the show. Plus he's the best looking guy this season.

Who will be the first to go? I originally thought Penn Gillette before I saw the show. I loved his attitude. He has too long of a way to go to improve as a dancer. I think the fans will keep him and Steve Gutenberg due to their popularity factor.

Adam Carolla unfortunately will probably be the first guy off. I thought that the judges were harsher than they should have been on him. He danced better than Gillette and Gutenberg, yet the judges didn't think so and gave him lower scores. Even his usually great sense of humor seemed off kilter in the first show. Outside of Southern California, the rest of the nation doesn't really know him too well so he will not get help from the voters.

The ladies go tonight and it will be interesting to see how that shapes up. Kristi Yamaguchi is still my favorite to win the whole thing this year.

Media Review: Sports: The OC Register Forgot What County They Serve

The Orange County Register Makes A Major Faux Pas by Not Covering the Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine steps toward the NCAA Big Dance.

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

It seems to me that my home County newspaper, the Orange County Register forgot which county they serve this morning.

That's because for the first time in 30 years one of our Division 1 College basketball teams from Orange County will be appearing in the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournaments...the Big Dance.

When Cal State Fullerton takes on UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament tonight in Anaheim at 8 PM PST (ESPN2 and Bosco Radio: The Sports Channel), up for grabs will be a slot in the NCAA tournament. An Orange County team hasn't been there since 1978 when Cinderella Fulllerton was a couple of freethrows and layups short of getting to the final four.

So how does my beloved OC Register do on their front page of the sports section this morning. What was the lead sports story? UCLA beating USC in another county in the Pac 10 tourney. The stories about the UC Irvine and CS Fullerton wins were buried in the middle of the section. That's just wrong. Even our local high school Mater Dei who by the way won the State High School Basketball championship last night was regulated to the very bottom of the front page.

If I'm sports editor of the OC Register, my sports page looks like the following this morning... Side by side huge photos and articles on the Titans beating Northridge and the Anteaters upsetting UC Santa Barbara. The next thing is Mater Dei winning the state high school championship with another photo...and at the bottom of the page I have a story about the Fullerton Junior college basketball team and their quarterfinal win in the State Community College playoffs.

If the Register isn't going to cover Orange County properly, I suggest a name change. The Los Angeles Register of Orange County

Opinion: The Fall of Eliot Spitzer

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

I probably am not breaking any new ground here when I say that the ex-governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, who resigned today admidst allegations of soliciting prostitutes is deserving everything that he is going to get.

As I get older, I realize more and more that there are no perfect people especially among politicians so when politicians have marital affairs or have drug abuse or alcohol abuse problems or somehow show themselves as being human beings I always lean on the side of forgiveness. That is as long as they are doing the best job for their constituents. If not, then all bets are off.

This case was different. This guy was once the Attorney General of New York and he became the Governor based on his toughness for upholding the law. He set himself up as a "holier than thou" politician. He broke the law. Prostitution is not legal in New York. He's a hypocrite at the highest degree.

Here's the general idea... Anybody should have the right to do anything they want to do in the privacy of your own personal space. I believe in personal freedom as long as you keep it personal. If you want to go and smoke a joint that's ok. Just don't get behind a wheel of an automobilie after you do it because then it encroaches on my rights especially if you hit my car head on. If you want to smoke a cigarette that's fine too just don't do it around me where I can breathe your second hand smoke.

If Eliot Spencer wants to get off with some escorts that's his business too. Just go someplace where it's legal...like Nevada to do it and don't spend my money to do it. He forgot his salary is paid by the taxpayers. And he also forgot that he built his entire career taking down people breaking the law. What a moron. You talk about the proverbial thinking with your dick...

Baseball Season Is Back In Town

By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

I took my annual walk through the ballparks of my hometown last Saturday morning. Baseball season is back in Fullerton. Spring was in the air and there was an extra spring in my step as I went on my tour, a six mile jaunt. For the uninformed, Fullerton, CA has more ballparks, more Major League Hall of Famers, and more Major Leaugers period per square mile than any city in America.

First stop was Goodwin Field the home of the four time NCAA national champion Cal State Fullerton Titans. The Titans had just beaten the Southern Miss Golden Eagles the night before to improve to 6-4 on the young season. The groundskeepers were putting the finishing touches on cleaning the ballpark and getting it ready again to play ball that night where High School star Corey Abiso would win his first College game as a pitcher.

Earlier the previous week, the Titans opened at home on a Tuesday night against the Loyola Marymount Lions. Opening night is always fun as the alumni and fans can be seen getting reacquainted in the stands. A lot of laughter, reminiscing, and hugging to go along with the excitement of the baseball season. Baseball will be played here at Goodwin until the first week of September. After the Titans season is over in June which usually ends up at the World Series in Omaha, the Fullerton Flyers minor league season starts. The Flyers are a Single A Independent Ball team.

After walking to breakfast at Nicks for the pancakes and scrambled eggs, I headed off to Hornet Field, the ballpark of the Fullerton College Hornets. Rob, was striping the field for the 12:00 game against the Golden West Pirates. One thing I love about Hornet Field is that longtime coach Nick Fuscardo, wanting to recreate a little bit of Wrigley Field, planted ivy on the outfield wall. Just add some Bleacher Bums in left field a little wind blowing out and you would swear you are in Chicago.

Around the corner from there is the Fullerton High School ballpark, home of the Indians. The field looked in pristene condition and quietly awaited for the afternoon Newport Elks Tournament game between the Tribe and West Hills High. A game the Tribe would win.

I got back out on Chapman Ave. and headed to Highland turned left and came upon historical Amerige Park. Ralph Chacon and the guys were getting the beautiful field ready for the PONY league opening days ceremony. The ball park looked more beautiful than ever. A while back my friend Tim McClain bought some stadium seats from the Dodgers when they were renovating Dodger Stadium so Amerige Park now looks like a miniature version of Chavez Ravine.

Outside Amerige Park were the bright eyed Mustang, Shetland and PONY players in their brand new uniforms getting the ready to take the field with their coaches and families. I could smell the breakfast and carne asada on the open grills that the volunteers were cooking up. Sometimes it's not always about the smell of the cut grass that reminds you it's baseball season.

I ran out of time before visiting the four Little League Parks in Fullerton where all the seasons were under way but later that day I was eating lunch at a local restaurant and a mother was on the cel phone giving instructions to her son. "I put the uniform out on the bed with the cleats on the floor. Put them on around 2 and I'll pick you up for the game." Memories.

Jackson Browne Returns To His Roots

Jackson Browne
Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2
Inside Records
3 teaspoons of Bosco (out of 5)

Reviewed by Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

When Jackson Browne was just a lad attending Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, California he used to sit out on the front lawn of the school and play his guitar and sing his songs. A lot of people thought he was a strange young man at the time. But times have changed. For the past four decades many people come to his concerts and spend lots of money to hear him play guitar and piano, sing while listening to his cynical views on the state of the government.

The great thing about his Solo Acoustic, Volume 2 record is it is a return to those days on the Sunny Hills campus or the Orange County coffee houses (which by the way, he rarely acknowledges) and we hear stripped down versions of his vast body of work.

The not so great thing about his Solo Acoustic Volume 2 is well, it's Solo Acoustic Volume 2. All the songs we really wanted to hear like Lives in the Balance, Take It Easy, and the Pretender were on the Grammy nominated 2005 album Solo Acoustic Volume 1.

Personally, unless I'm at his concert, I don't want to hear acoustic versions of Redneck Friend or Somebody's Baby. The originals were just fine. And I don't want to pay money to hear his political views which he likes to talk about between songs. Let the music and songwriting speak for itself unless he is ready to run for political office and when I'm ready to read his viewpoints I can always go to his website. What I do want now is some new recorded original songwriting and music from Jackson Browne.

It has now been six years since his last album of original material. He has only recorded one of those this decade. You would think with his stance against the current administration that he would be a little more prolific with the songwriting instead of rehashing old material from the Reagan Administration and applying it to today.

Sometimes It's Not About The Time...It's The Time Spent

The Bosco Editor and his daughter LA comedian/writer Nadia Bacon finish the 23rd edition of the Los Angeles Marathon locked arm in arm.
By Allen Bacon
Editor
Bosco: The Blog

I experienced the Los Angeles Marathon for the first time as a participant this past Sunday. I am an urban walker and don’t have a problem walking 25-30 miles in one day. If you were reading this magazine in December, you heard about my walks through San Francisco and Seattle…A total of 75 miles in three days.

So the LA Marathon was a good excuse for me to take a long walk through a major city. Of course, if you have participated in the LA Marathon in particular, on any level, you know it’s much more than just completing the course….it’s an emotional experience that you will never forget.

There were 26,000 participants in the LA Marathon which means there were 26,000 stories. Mine was just a minor footnote. But to me it was special. I participated with my daughter, who while probably being in the best shape in her life right now, had never gone more than 12 miles at one time… running or walking. The experience reminded me how determined of a person she can be. Her foot was bothering her from the beginning but she started anyway. At around mile 15 with a little more than eleven miles to go, Nadia’s hip started to hurt. She lives in downtown LA and she could have easily pulled it over and went home. But she went to the next first aid station, took an Advil and pressed on.

At around mile 17, our competitive nature took over. Many of the people that sped ahead of us at the beginning were starting to fade….we were passing many of them and we were determined not to be passed by anybody else. To do this we would focus on somebody up ahead to overtake. Like, tall guy with the blue shirt, you’re next…lady in orange running shorts, you’re next. Not to many passed us from mile 17 to the end.

At mile 23 as we were starting to go over the Whittier Blvd. Bridge, Nadia was hitting the wall. But she pressed on anyway, one foot in front of the other saying something that I heard from some of the other walkers and runners. “I’ve come this far, might as well finish.”

And she was there at the end. We locked arms with a half mile left of the 26.2 miles and did a full out sprint to the finish line so we finished with the exact same time.

Her determination reminded me of some stories when she was a young girl. Like the time she was struggling with learning how to tie her shoes. She was so determined to learn how to tie her shoes, she went to my car that was parked in the driveway, shut the door and didn’t come out….about an hour later…until she knew how to tie her shoes.

In a race, it’s not always about the time, it’s about the time spent. In this case, it was the time spent with my daughter and about 13,000 of the 26,000 participants, the volunteers, and the people along the way. Here’s a vignette of some of the sights, smells and sounds of LA Marathon XXXIII…

The volunteers from Aids Walk LA who gave Nadia and I generous amounts of sunblock and shared their resources with everybody, including giving me directions to the subway back to the starting point at the end.

All the little children from Hancock Park to South Central who gave us high fives and smiles….the young African-American child in South Central with the delicious sliced bananas at the right time…the Hispanic family in the Garment district that gave us Orange slices…. The members of the LAPD who ran a torch relay for a fallen comrade with the son of the late officer running the last mile… All the people, responding to my shirt and shouting “Go Bosco!”

The wonderful aroma of the Korean food in Koreatown with the pounding of the drums…the wonderful aroma of the Mexican food in various locations along the route with Mariachi music…the Christian Hip-Hop and gospel singers on Washington Blvd.

Nadia and enjoyed it so much, we are going to do this in another city. We’re talking about participating in the New York or Boston Marathon next.