PINK'S

Not that I needed a shove in that direction but did you ever have a craving for a good hot dog.  I do every time I go to a baseball or football game.  You can have all the burgers and tri-tip you want at a tail gate party but without hot dogs it’s just not right.  Even a backyard family barbecue, no matters how gourmet, must include hot dogs to be considered legit. 

So I’m driving down the 405 during virtual grid lock, early morning traffic on my way to an appointment with my heart doctor in LA when hot dogs come to mind.  It dawns on me that I will be done with my appointment and beginning the drive home about lunch time.  Not too far from my doctors office is Pink’s. 

For those of you not in the know, Pink’s is a hot dog stand at the corner of Melrose and La Brea in Los Angeles.  It began in 1939 as a pushcart location by Paul Pink. In 1946 he traded in his pushcart for a small building on the same spot.  That was 73 years ago.  It is a genuine Hollywood landmark.   

The appointment is the second follow up to an angiogram/blood clot removal/ stent procedure I had a few months back.  After drawing blood and the usual prodding, poking and questioning the good doctor said everything was hunky dory, renewed my prescriptions and said see you in 2 months. 

As I leave his office and head for Pink’s the irony of going from my cardiologist office to Pink’s for a chili cheese dog gives me pause for thought.  Briefly. 

Tooling down Melrose in LA is a treat in itself.  You have some of the finest chef owned restaurants and haute couture stores in the world next door to tattoo parlors and shops selling clothes that if you saw you daughter in them you would forbid her from leaving the house for the next 100 years.  To say this stretch of road is eclectic in style and commerce is to understate the extremes.  I love it because it gives me a taste of what’s going on off Main Street. 

When I get to the Farmers Market area and La Brea I hang a left and there’s Pink’s.  It was the lunch hour and the place was jumping.  I took my place in a long line along with 8 motorcycle cops and 2 medic wagon crews.  It could have been a scene from “Southland”, one of my favorite cop shows about their day to day life on the gritty streets of LA.  The thought occurred to me that if I were a burglar driving by I might think my timing was good because half the local precinct was at Pink’s.   

As the line shuffled along the cops were kept busy by kids wanting to touch their badges and listen to their radios.  They were also quite humorous in discussing their morning shift in cop lingo.  We were all well entertained.

The wall behind the servers is a huge menu with options galore, such as The Brando Dog, Martha Stewart Dog, Pastrami Burrito Dog, Rosie O’Donnell Long Island Dog and many, many more.  Each with description such as the “LA Philharmonic Conductor Gustavo Dudamel Dog with 9 inch stretch Dog , guacamole, American and Swiss Cheese, fajita mix, jalapeno slices, topped with tortilla chips – A REAL RHAPSODY!”  So I went with the Chili Cheese Dog and a Coke in an old fashioned glass bottle.

The dining room and seating area walls are covered with hundreds of celebrity pictures, most autographed.  They ranged from old timers like Marlon Brando and Rock Hudson to Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Phyllis Diller and Jay Leno.  If your picture was not here I am sure you were not Hollywood royalty.  I am positive I was sitting in the same chair as Betty White once sat because her picture was right next to me.

The dog itself is served on a bun made to be like a bed for the hot dog.  It is placed on a doily and smothered with chili and then mustard.   Picking it up and eating it is out of the question.  It must be attacked with a knife and fork.  But man is it good. 

As I walked back to my car I passed a medical marijuana business with an ATM machine out in front.  Parked at the curb in front at an expired meter was a midnight blue Bentley that cost who knows how much, at an expired meter.  A cop, who I had just had lunch with, was writing up a ticket with a big smile on his face. 

I have made my journey to hot dog Mecca.

 

MOM'S DAY

 

 

No, it wasn’t Mothers Day but it was a day for mothers.  At a time when the ethics of some involved in athletics is being questioned your faith is restored by someone like Jim Walker, head high school football coach of the Redlands Terriers. 

As we head into football season at high schools across the country it was his idea to include the mothers of his players in a day of fun, which began with a late lunch of lasagna, salad, mixed fruit and brownies.  While players and Mom’s were munching away Coach Walker made his way around the room, stopping at each table to introduce his players.  They, in turn, were to introduce their Mom’s and tell why they love them and a secret about them that no one knows anything about. 

This made for some very heartwarming comments as well as some hilarity.  If I were keeping tabs I would say the most often heard comment was in appreciation for the sacrifices made by their mothers.  A close second was “She’s always there for me.”  Some burly, tough-as-nails football players revealed a soft side when expressing their feelings for their mothers.  The mothers too were touched by words they may not have heard for a while.    

When it came to the secrets some players showed promise as future stand-up comics.  One boy said his mother had been arrested when she was in college for being involved in a protest movement she felt strongly about.  Another said his Mom had been in jail 11 times.  “Just kidding, ha-ha.”  Then he tried to save himself by saying she had won the league 100 meter championship as a sprinter on the track team.  Nice save. 

From there everyone adjourned to the football field.  There Mom’s joined their sons for a sampling of what the boys go through at a typical football practice.  They were grouped by position.  The defense and their Mom’s were at one end of the field and the offense and their Mom’s were at the other. 

The mothers were all decked out in everything but shoulder pads and helmets.  Wearing eye black and their son’s jerseys they went through calisthenics to get loose and avoid a hammy injury then ran some plays.  They were taught the proper stance and what to do when the ball was snapped.  Being properly warmed up and having received a crash course in Football 101, they were ready.  The respective coaches worked them into a frenzy then sent them to mid-field to do battle. 

You know how they say a dog looks like its owner.  Well the same can be said for people.  Kids look like their parents.  I am trying to be delicate here but the mothers looked like their son’s.  The backs and receivers Mom’s appeared smallish while the Mom’s of the linemen were a little healthier looking.  As they glared across the line at each other, it was on.

My daughter Romy was the QB for the offense and was being tutored by Kody, the son of her fiancée and the QB of the Redlands Terriers.   They were lined up in something resembling a winged-T formation with all kinds of Mom’s in motion, fake hand-offs and deceptive trickery.  Some of which worked and some of which the defense stuffed.  Romy connected on a skinny post pattern and another to a Mom in a different colored jersey.  One Mom, whose son must have been a full back, took a handoff on a sweep left, built up a head of steam and bowled over everyone in sight for a nice gain.

The contest was declared a draw.  There were high fives and fist bumps all around followed by a picture taking session on the field that I am sure will produce some great memories.

The best part of the day for me came just before the group broke up after the dinner.  The last player and Mom had been introduced when Coach Walker, who is in his last season as coach, spoke up.  He talked of the importance of a strong family, saying that the success of the team this season would begin with strong support at home.  While there are many facets to such support this day spent with boys proudly showing their Mom’s what they do after school and love so much while the Mom’s show the boys how much they mean to them, will be a huge step in the right direction.  The win-at-all-cost coaches could take a lesson from Coach Walker about what is really important in life.