Random thoughts on a summer day in Los Angeles, with brats on the grill and the Beach Boys on the hi-fi:
• What’s better than baseball? More baseball.
• FYI, I wear mustard the way Cary Grant wore suits.
• Serious question: Could the Guardian Angels beat the Anaheim Angels?
• True story: Descanso Gardens was once considered a site for Disneyland.
• Can you imagine?
• Wait till you see the model train railways coming to Descanso in July.
“If he could cook, I’d marry him,” said Manager Leo Durocher on the late Willie Mays.
• You know, sometimes life is just one damn thing after another.
• And overnight success usually takes about 30 years.
• Honestly, Trader Joe’s is the only market where I don’t feel ripped off.
• I wish Ricola made tea.
• I wish Bruno Mars made more music.
• I wish Sinatra could do one more encore.
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” Pablo Picasso once said.
• Trivia time: What is the most-recorded song in history?
• When I return a shopping cart, I flip it over and dump it in the middle of the parking lot.
• Is that wrong? Because sometimes I feel unsafe.
• Things I miss: comedy albums.
• And irreverence.
“Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” (Nelson Mandela or Carrie Fisher, no one really knows which)
• Can’t wait till they mic-up the players in the Little League World Series.
• I say bring back the Guardian Angels.
• Because this abandoned shopping cart stuff is really getting out of hand.
• Nothing like a good Greek gyro. Any tips?
• June birthdays: Lionel Messi, 37; Blake Shelton, 48; Heidi Klum, 51; Elon Musk, 53; Meryl Streep, 75.
• Trivia answer: According to Guinness, “Summertime,” by George Gershwin, is the most-recorded song of all time.
• Runners-up: “Amazing Grace” and “Yesterday.”
• Best restaurant name in town?
“Burger She Wrote,” serving up first-rate smash burgers at two spots, on Beverly and Hollywood Boulevard.
• Burgers are my love language.
• Baseball is my dopamine.
• So are books.
• Maybe readers should purchase Vroman’s Bookstore, the way Green Bay fans own the Packers?
“The earth is mostly just a boneyard. But pretty in the sunlight,” Larry McMurtry said.
• At my age, a half marathon is a full marathon.
• That Kansas City kicker is about as smart as a bowl of soup. But he’s entitled to his views, which are not hateful, just musty.
“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes,” said Maggie Smith.
• Smiling is contagious.
• So is not smiling.
• So is sitting home doing nothin’.
• How about a Happy Hour Hike?
• And don’t forget those free Thursday morning rehearsals at Hollywood Bowl. To confirm, call (323) 850-2000, ext. 2, then ext. 6.
• A nice lap around Lake Hollywood is refreshing too. And free.
• Yep, Hollywood has a lake.
• Of course, it’s a fake lake.
• FYI, seven different channels/platforms will now carry NFL games.
• Oddly, TV was better with four channels, all free.
• Sadly, greed is contagious too.
“It was thanks to [Hitchcock] that I understood that murder scenes should be shot like love scenes and love scenes like murder scenes,” Grace Kelly said.
• She also was pretty in the sunlight.
• But not free.
• Prediction: Oregon wins the Big Ten in its first year, doing the PAC-12 proud.
• But this whole thing still makes me hurt.
• OK, can you blame Dan Hurley for bagging on the Lakers? Who could afford L.A. on $12 mil a year?
• But, honestly, he’s kind of a coward.
• Don’t forget, you can bring your own food into Dodger Stadium.
“The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else….” Alan Bennett said.
• Another Hollywood Bowl tip: Park at Hollywood United Methodist Church (northwest corner of Highland and Franklin). No stacking, and all proceeds go to the church.
• Weather update: MacArthur Park is still melting in the dark.
• Just think, all that sweet green icing … flowing down.
• And it’s free!
For more posts, please go to ChrisErskineLA.com.
First published June 27-29 in Outlook Newspapers.
