And We're Off to the Races!!!
So yesterday, Thode called up and told me all excited that there was $1 beer and $1 hotdogs at the Hollywood Park Race Tracks that night AND (best part), Morris Day and the Time were giving a concert afterwards. "Morris Day and the Time!!!" she shrieked.
Erm...frankly, I had no idea who they were.
"You know...from the Purple Rain video...?"
And to save myself from further embarassment because I still didn't know who she was talking about (I don't think I've actually ever seen the Purple Rain video) and besides, I was already sold the second she even called me, having spent much of week reading Prisoner of Azkaban, watching Seinfeld re-runs, and falling asleep by 10:00 p.m., I just said "Oh, yeah" and agreed to meet at Amol's at 8:30 p.m.
Sadly, because AD needed to SHOWER AFTER WORK (collective "huh?" because it's not like he chops wood for a living or something - the man's got a desk job) we didn't get there until right before the very last race. So I only got to make one bet, and I decided to wing it and bet $2 for Kootchie Green to win. Based entirely on its name. Kootchie Green.
And Kootchie Green came in second to last!! KG came very close to being in last place, and only pulled ahead at the very end, which I found really ironic.
Anyway, some thoughts on the racetrack...
I knew enough to figure it wouldn't quite look like Seabiscuit, but for some reason, in my head, I thought it might look like that scene from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts is wearing that cool brown dress with the polka dots and the hat, which now, as I'm typing this, I realize that was a polo game at a fancy country club.
Polo game at a fancy country club this was not.
I mean, I still think that it would be really fun to get a group of friends together and hang out there for an afternoon/early evening, but the place was kind of...gross. The floor was littered with shredded up bet tickets, spilt beer, and all sorts of other crap. Really ugly flourescent lighting. And the people there were kind of thuggy. And I heard the hotdog was no good.
But Morris Day and the Time were good. Turns out they're some sort of funk band from the 80's. Best known for a song called "Jungle Love." Huh. Go figure.
And I kind of liked that I got to do something that I figure my grandpa on my dad's side and my great-grandpa on my mom's side, did a lot. I seem to recall hearing stories about how they would go to the tracks. And also what Dorothy Zbornak on the Golden Girls liked to do, but she liked to do that a little bit too much and had to keep rescheduling her interview for a teaching job because she spent all her time at the tracks and then she owed all this money so Rose lent Dorothy her ATM card to borrow money for a "surgery" and Dorothy felt guilty and it turns out Rose knew all along that Dorothy didn't need money for "surgery" and but just hoped that Dorothy would have a hard time taking advantage of a friend and then Dorothy finally she admits that she has a gambling problem. Which I really hope that I don't have, because, damn, placing that bet was really fun and watching the race was really really exciting!
Erm...frankly, I had no idea who they were.
"You know...from the Purple Rain video...?"
And to save myself from further embarassment because I still didn't know who she was talking about (I don't think I've actually ever seen the Purple Rain video) and besides, I was already sold the second she even called me, having spent much of week reading Prisoner of Azkaban, watching Seinfeld re-runs, and falling asleep by 10:00 p.m., I just said "Oh, yeah" and agreed to meet at Amol's at 8:30 p.m.
Sadly, because AD needed to SHOWER AFTER WORK (collective "huh?" because it's not like he chops wood for a living or something - the man's got a desk job) we didn't get there until right before the very last race. So I only got to make one bet, and I decided to wing it and bet $2 for Kootchie Green to win. Based entirely on its name. Kootchie Green.
And Kootchie Green came in second to last!! KG came very close to being in last place, and only pulled ahead at the very end, which I found really ironic.
Anyway, some thoughts on the racetrack...
I knew enough to figure it wouldn't quite look like Seabiscuit, but for some reason, in my head, I thought it might look like that scene from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts is wearing that cool brown dress with the polka dots and the hat, which now, as I'm typing this, I realize that was a polo game at a fancy country club.
Polo game at a fancy country club this was not.
I mean, I still think that it would be really fun to get a group of friends together and hang out there for an afternoon/early evening, but the place was kind of...gross. The floor was littered with shredded up bet tickets, spilt beer, and all sorts of other crap. Really ugly flourescent lighting. And the people there were kind of thuggy. And I heard the hotdog was no good.
But Morris Day and the Time were good. Turns out they're some sort of funk band from the 80's. Best known for a song called "Jungle Love." Huh. Go figure.
And I kind of liked that I got to do something that I figure my grandpa on my dad's side and my great-grandpa on my mom's side, did a lot. I seem to recall hearing stories about how they would go to the tracks. And also what Dorothy Zbornak on the Golden Girls liked to do, but she liked to do that a little bit too much and had to keep rescheduling her interview for a teaching job because she spent all her time at the tracks and then she owed all this money so Rose lent Dorothy her ATM card to borrow money for a "surgery" and Dorothy felt guilty and it turns out Rose knew all along that Dorothy didn't need money for "surgery" and but just hoped that Dorothy would have a hard time taking advantage of a friend and then Dorothy finally she admits that she has a gambling problem. Which I really hope that I don't have, because, damn, placing that bet was really fun and watching the race was really really exciting!
posted by S at 10:53 AM
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