Looking for something to do this evening instead of watching the presidential debate? Try this: ESPN will be showing the delightful film, "American Pastime," tonight at 6 p.m.
Kerry Yo Nakagawa of Fresno, the founder of the Nisei Baseball Research Project, was the guiding light behind the movie. It's a story set in the internment camps of World War II, where Japanese-American families were held after being rounded up and torn from their homes up and down the West Coast.
Surrounded by barbed wire and the fear and prejudices of their own nation, they struggled to survive in their bleak new lives. One of the ways they found to cope was through baseball. "American Pastime" tells that story in a charming fictional form, with drama, romance and even the odd moment of comedy. A tragic passage in our nation's history becomes an uplifting tale.
Nakagawa and his son Kale even make cameo appearances as ballplayers in the film.
If you must watch the debate, then record the movie. It's worth it.
Thanks for the suggestion, but I've decided to do something really, really constructive - far more than going to a movie or listen to two politicians - that is - going to the Edison football game!
I will watch the debate just to watch Obama attempt to stutter his wat through questions he can't answer. I am hoping he will be able to answer something for peace of mind if he does win.
Not a very civic idea but at least the topic isn't trains.
I saw candidate Obama exit his plane then pose while holding a suit bag over his shoulder, he slowly removed his sunglasses with his free hand...scanning. For a second I thought he'd jump into a phone booth.