My Knee's Season Debut at the Hollywood Bowl

Yes, folks, you read that right.  And, no, my knee suddenly cannot play the piano.

But, last Saturday was an important acid test in the life of yours truly.  I needed to see if my arthritic right knee could survive another summer at the Hollywood Bowl.

Let's backtrack a trifle. 

Regular readers will know that it was my experience last year at the Bowl that propelled moi to seek the off-season help of Kerlan-Jobe, the famed Dodger orthopaedists and inventors of the Tommy John surgical procedure.  After years of making the arduous trek up the long Bowl hill and the steep stairways inside, I realized in Summer 2010 that I could no longer do it.  Every Saturday night at the Bowl seemed like an endurance test.  I suddenly became that guy who looked at his Bowl tickets and winced automatically.  Oy, I have to make mit da schlep.  Not only was my right knee preventing me from enjoying life, it was also apparently turning me into an old Jewish man.

Kerlan-Jobe said I was too young for knee replacement surgery.  Okay, what's the new fix, guys?  Well, they pointed me to physical therapy and, after about two months or ago with the wonderful Susie of Westwood Physical Therapy, I wasn't exactly pain-free but, for the first time in a decade, I was now limp-free.

My time with Susie morphed into a relationship in the same therapy place with a terrific personal trainer named Jeff, who almost understood my body instantly.  He crafted about two dozen different exercises done in rotation across two hourly sessions a week, all of which were designed to strengthen all the other limbs and joints of my body that are stronger than the junky joint on my right leg.  What an education.  Who knew that hips and ankles impacted your knee?

Indeed, pain is still there periodically.  The worst, oddly enough, comes when I am standing in front of the toilet and doing the regular emptying of you-know-what.  When I do use the restroom in this fashion, I can circumvent the pain by keeping my right leg raised.  Yes, male dogs and I relieve ourselves in exactly the same way.

But, the work with Jeff over the winter has paid off with fantastic benefits.  No limp.  There are now defined muscles in my calves.  And I can now do side planks like I'm auditioning for David Letterman's Stupid Human Tricks.

But, over the past six months, I've been eyeing the calendar.  And my first date with the Hollywood Bowl ascent. 

On the day before, I had a regular session with my personal training staff of Jeff and Christina (yes, there are two of them so I guess that's a staff).  The hour was devoted to mobility stretches and I was pulled like the last piece of salt water taffy on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City.  I left so nimble that I felt like I was channeling Donald O'Connor in the "Make Em Laugh" dance number of "Singin' In The Rain."

But how would it translate to Saturday night?

All that day, I held my breath.  I felt like Sandy Koufax before the seventh game of the 1965 World Series.  I thought I could do it, but only the actual experience itself would be the ultimate arbitor.

First hurdle.  After parking, the steps leading into the long subway-like tunnel that cuts under Highland Avenue.

My goal was to avoid hugging the bannister as much as possible.  Done.

The stairs on the other side of the tunnel are almost as daunting.

Handled just fine.  I also tackled the steep, steep hill up to the Bowl itself.  Oh, I wasn't looking to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.  But, for me, this incline was almost as much of a challenge.

Inside the Bowl, the entire audience sits on tiers that are built into the side of a hill.  Of course, the stairs feature quite the slant.

Once safely in my lofty seat, I looked down to see exactly what I accomplished.  From this perch, I finally understood the monumental task I had just conquered.

And then I realized the inevitable.

At the end of the show, I am going to have to do it all over again.

In reverse.

So, how was the concert?  Well, the Bowl summer got off to a great start.  Guest conductor Thomas Wilkins, who should be given the gig permanently, expertly handled the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra through a series of patriotic songs.  During a salute to the Armed Forces, veterans were asked to stand as their branch song was played.  A marvelous sight to see.

The second half featured the musical relics of the past, Hall and Oates.  The most excited folks in the crowd weren't even born in 1981 when those private eyes were watching you.  But, then again, wine purchased in the 99 Cent Shop can make anybody sound decent.  I couldn't help but notice that all of their hits in 2011 sound a bit slower now that the singers are well past the age of 50. 

Of course, given the holiday weekend, the evening concluded with terrific fireworks.  Celebrating our country's birthday.

In my mind, there were mental pyrotechnics.  I knew I would get down the hill just fine.  And be ready for the Bowl again this Saturday.

My knee was in good hands.

Dinner last night:  Polish sausage at the Dodger game.