V 6 N. 83 Zatopek, Zamperini, Film and Margaritas

We received this note from Mike Solomon a few weeks ago:

George,

Before we went to the L.A. Coliseum to see the Cal-USC game we had dinner at the El Cholo Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles.a watering hole for SC football coaches.

Thought that you'd like the part of the restaurant that honors Louis Zamperini.

I've been there a couple of times and it's a great Mexican Restaurant ( even though the sign out front says Spanish cuisine)? Had to take a photo of the room for some of my running pals.

great margaritas! A L.A. landmark going back to 1923.

El Cholo Restaurant

1121 S. Western Ave.

Los Angeles, Cal.

Thanks, Mike.   Hope to see you there someday.

Note:  There are several places in L.A. called El Cholo's, make sure you go to the one on S. Western Ave. if you want to be in the Louis Zamperini room. ed.

Moving on, I am currently reading another of the new books about Emil Zatopek,  "Quicksilver, The Mercurial Emil Zatopek" by Pat Butcher,  loaned to me by John Cobley, my friend who writes the wonderful distance running blog  Racing Past.   Where we only scratch the surface, John goes in depth and to the heart of the matter.  There you will find his review of "Quicksilver...." , so I 'll spare you reading mine.  However I will remark on the style in which it is written as much in the author's first person telling about how he made contact with sources and then the interviews with Zatopek, his wife Dana, and coaches and friends which to me was much more interesting than a totally chronological account of Zatopek's life. You learn about the hardships of training while a war was going on in Europe.  The friends who were arrested and imprisoned for not going along with the views of the state.  In fact it is noted that the whole Czech hockey team which won the world championship in 1947 was imprisoned and condemned to work in a uranium mine for years.  Zatopek himself was sent there after the Prague Spring in 1968.

 I will also mention two films that are cited in the book.   One is a Czech production about the doping world in track and field from the Eastern bloc standpoint.  I've only been able to find a trailer for this film.  See Fair-Play.    It is  by the Paris based Czech director Andrea Sedlackova.  Although I haven't found a source to view the entire film, some of you more astute teckies may be able to help us with that.

Ah Hah!  We received a full length connection from the good people at Fair Play.
Click here to see the complete film, hope you've kept your Czech language tapes to practice.   Fair Play, full length film

The second film is a documentary about a refugee ,  Salah Ameidan, from the Western Sahara.  The Runner    Again we can only connect you with the trailer

George Roy and Steve