L.A.'s Hottest Day Ever. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate...

It's here. They've been yapping about it all week. It's finally here.

The Heat Wave. Hotter than hot. There's only one cure.

An Icy cold brewski. For Breakfast. For Lunch. For Dinner. Especially if you're driving a school bus as a regular day-job gig here in the City of Angels & Actors. Hydrate they say. Absolutely.

Don't know if it's kosher to say, but keeping cool can turn into a permanent lifestyle here in Southern California. Waking to a couple of icy cold Bad Boys is something I've been doing for decades.

Like the song sez, the beer I had for breakfast was so good, I another for dessert. I guess it was in our cards. Back East they've been battling the heat and humidity all summer long.

My time-tested reaction to all this late summer heat was to head down to the local Circus Liquor location, open their cavernous beer locker and literally chill out. All my friends were there.

Bud Light, Mr. Budweiser, a guy called Heineken and a favorite tryst of mine, Stella Artois. Stella and I go way back. Nothing cools the spirit like sitting in your Union Jack Speedos among friends.

I guess they call it an Indian Summer. Nothing to do with our Native American brothers and sistas. Yes, it's hot all over.

In my just-big-enough-to-swing-a-cat apartment, out front, next to the three browned-out palm trees on the browned-out lawn and out back near the slightly overflowing dumpster. It's HOT! No doubt about it. No reservations on that. So to speak. 

Keep cool. Take care. Hydrate.

But, enough about me...

Celebrating the L.A. Marathon 2026...

 I remember my first Marathon. Eons ago.  I remember it with great affection. I don't think the authorities will ever forget it.

OK, so it didn't involve donning those dance shoes and eating pasta the night before. It was in college back in Ohio. Just before that eviction from the dorm. 

A gaggle of us were experiencing our first beers and we decided to drink 26 beers in honor of Pheidippides,the dude that ran that first 26 mile marathon way back when.

It was back in Rome, or maybe it was Greece. Maybe Cleveland. Whatever. No relation to Philippe's Original pork-dipped sanwhiches in Chinatown.

Over the years and over the beers I guess I was silently in training for the L.A. Marathon running today across the streets of the City of Angels and Actors. 

The only real prep for today's race was watching and watching again a slightly scratched DVD of 50's bodybuilder Steve Reeves."The Giant of Marathon" was a Swords and Sandals Italian movie epic that I still watch on a weekly basis. I found that precious cinematic delight in a bargain bin at Amoeba in L.A. The original Amoeba.

Some nights when the Demons come and I haven't heard from Central Casting in forever, I relive a strange scenario. A nightmare that disturbs my REM sleep.

I imagine I'm in the original race. Running next to me is 50's Mr. Universe, Steve Reeves. He is in great shape and style and impressing all the sidewalk spectators. 

Steve is ahead. I'm running behind. Trying to catch up. What else is new?

Both my apologies and my congratulations to all the runners in today's L.A. Marathon.

Yes, in the L.A. Marathon 2026, once again I was an also-ran.

But, enough about me...