ahream

Sunday I motored on up to the Calabasas Classic, a fun little 5K race I do every year because they give away these great hats. Also it benefits a children’s cancer charity. But really, I’m there for the hat.

This year, in what was a complete surprise to me, I won first place in my division, despite being passed by a giant bunny, which sounds like something I would make up for a book, but sadly is the truth. Even sadder was that I spotted the bunny (really a guy in a Nesquik bunny costume – let’s hope he gets paid for that) at the start line and said aloud to my husband, “See that bunny. I’m totally kicking that bunny’s ass.”

Never bet against a rabbit in a foot race.

I held him off for two miles, but in the final stretch, he and his little friend smoked me. Hard. Fortunately, I wasn’t running in the rabbit division, so I still got my shiny gold medal. Not that my husband got to witness this stunning victory. He was in the car. Reading. About orchids. Apparently, rather than stand at the finish for a whole 23 minutes, he decided to go back to the parking lot. The plan being to return before I crossed and was any the wiser. It would appear he didn’t expect me to pull first place either. He was still in the car. With the book. About orchids. Not that I’m bitter.

He came back just in time to point to a guy in the crowd of finished runners and say, “Isn’t that the actor from Quantum Leap?”

And it was. Not that I had noticed, which is why I would make a terrible paparazzo, despite being two days away from finishing my book “Suzy Q. Papparazzi.” (Shameless plug! And don’t worry. Suzy is great at spotting celebrities.)

And what does one do upon discovering you’ve just been running a race against Scott Bakula? First, of course, you surreptitiously check him out from behind the smoothie tent. I can report that he’s aging pretty well. Grayer than before but looking much the same with no obvious fish-face plastic surgery going on. Still fit. Nice calves. But if I were a remotely decent human being, I would’ve run up and snatched those horrible hippie, circle-framed sunglasses off his face and burned them for the good of humanity. But that would’ve necessitated a long discussion with the Calabasas Police, so I was forced to let him continue to roam the earth looking ridiculous. Sorry, Scott.

The second thing I did was rush over to the results board to see if I beat him. And I had! By a lot! Which totally makes up for the bunny thing.

ahream Dispatches from the City of Angels I'm a mystery writer living in and writing about Los Angeles. You can catch my short story, "Running Venice," in the new anthology LAndmarked for Murder. Look for it in bookstores and on Amazon.com now. In the meantime, feel free to poke around. Over at my website you can find even more blog entries than I could fit here, as well as a few other ramblings. Enjoy and come back often.
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (1) Most Recent Twitters: Reading Tony Broadbent's book, The Smoke. It's too good. I'm losing sleep. Nocturnal pattern shot to hell. Productivity declining. L.A. Finds: The Denver omelet at Pat's in Topanga is sublime in its simplicity. Exactly what you need and nothing else, much like the restaurant itself snuggled smack in the middle of an old hippie community where the peace signs and tie-dye still reign. Flickr Updates: The second Thursday of every month is the Downtown Art Walk. The galleries stay open late, the restaurants are packed, bands perform on the streets. God, I love L.A. What I'm Reading: The Smoke by Tony Broadbent What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami Want E-Mail Updates? Click here, type your e-mail address into the first field (for public entries) and receive an e-mail note each time a new blog post goes up. (Photo updates, Twitters and "L.A. Finds" features not included. Those you have to swing by and check yourself.) Absolutely, positively no spam. Promise. Other author blogs: Sue Ann Jaffarian Eric Stone Christa Faust Lipstick Chronicles		2007-11-15 4:33 PM Scott Bakula can eat my dust Sunday I motored on up to the Calabasas Classic, a fun little 5K race I do every year because they give away these great hats. Also it benefits a children’s cancer charity. But really, I’m there for the hat. This year, in what was a complete surprise to me, I won first place in my division, despite being passed by a giant bunny, which sounds like something I would make up for a book, but sadly is the truth. Even sadder was that I spotted the bunny (really a guy in a Nesquik bunny costume – let’s hope he gets paid for that) at the start line and said aloud to my husband, “See that bunny. I’m totally kicking that bunny’s ass.” Never bet against a rabbit in a foot race. I held him off for two miles, but in the final stretch, he and his little friend smoked me. Hard. Fortunately, I wasn’t running in the rabbit division, so I still got my shiny gold medal. Not that my husband got to witness this stunning victory. He was in the car. Reading. About orchids. Apparently, rather than stand at the finish for a whole 23 minutes, he decided to go back to the parking lot. The plan being to return before I crossed and was any the wiser. It would appear he didn’t expect me to pull first place either. He was still in the car. With the book. About orchids. Not that I’m bitter. He came back just in time to point to a guy in the crowd of finished runners and say, “Isn’t that the actor from Quantum Leap?” And it was. Not that I had noticed, which is why I would make a terrible paparazzo, despite being two days away from finishing my book “Suzy Q. Papparazzi.” (Shameless plug! And don’t worry. Suzy is great at spotting celebrities.) And what does one do upon discovering you’ve just been running a race against Scott Bakula? First, of course, you surreptitiously check him out from behind the smoothie tent. I can report that he’s aging pretty well. Grayer than before but looking much the same with no obvious fish-face plastic surgery going on. Still fit. Nice calves. But if I were a remotely decent human being, I would’ve run up and snatched those horrible hippie, circle-framed sunglasses off his face and burned them for the good of humanity. But that would’ve necessitated a long discussion with the Calabasas Police, so I was forced to let him continue to roam the earth looking ridiculous. Sorry, Scott. The second thing I did was rush over to the results board to see if I beat him. And I had! By a lot! Which totally makes up for the bunny thing. Read/Post Comments (1) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top