SundayIndianapolis 500 Who would...

Sunday

Indianapolis 500
Who would ever have thought David Letterman would win the Indy 500? (OK, so Buddy Rice was actually behind the wheel, winning after a mid-race delay due to a heavy downpour.) Darned nice driving, fella. But the overpowering feeling of watching this is simply one of heartbreaking frustration. The cars out there flow like water, and all I'm thinking about is how if the drivers on Sunset Boulevard could only take a page out of that book, my commute would be 15 shorter, easy. And in L.A., commuting time is everything.

(Speaking of water, though, I suppose the differences aren't really that huge. Nobody here can drive in the rain, either.)

Uncle Sam Wants You
The Marines need 40,000 recruits a year. It's a sales job, plain and simple — no different from selling cars. Only the kid signing the finance contract on his first set of wheels doesn't have to worry about it requiring him to be sent overseas to get shot at.

And no, I'm not making light of the situation. The recruits &#151 Aikeem, Hill, Collette — and the people signing them up make you realize exactly who we've put in harm's way in Iraq.

World War II Memorial: A Testament to Freedom
I'll confess: Before the effort to create this memorial began getting so much attention, I had no idea there wasn't already one there. Pearl Harbor. Midway. Guadalcanal. D-Day. The Battle of the Bulge. 400,000 Americans who died in that war. How could there not be?

Well, it's there now. And it's a thing of absolute beauty.

My second confession: I teared up off and on throughout this hour. And I'm sure I'll be doing that through all the Memorial Day programming, too.

Ride with Funkmaster Flex
'69 Camaro — a gorgeous car. And Eagles QB Donovan McNabb works hard for his money, so he deserves it. Of course, if he had a Super Bowl ring on his finger, he'd deserve it more. (Oh, c'mon — I'm sure he'd understand. I'm a fair-weather Philadelphia sports fan from way back. He'll have to get used to that if he wants to stay there.)

I'll admit this, though: I really wish Flex would stop yelling.

Something the Lord Made
So Vivien Thomas performs amateur surgery and is eventually given an honorary medical degree and recognized for his pioneering contributions to the field of heart surgery. Now, how come when I tried opening a few people up around my office, all I got was threats from H.R.?

Seriously, though: I can't imagine how tough it must've been for Thomas to watch Alfred Blalock get all the credit for their work before times changed enough for people to recognize the vital role he played. And as he finally receives his due, all I can think of is how I'd never have believed such a happy ending without already knowing this was a true story. Nice to know that happens sometimes.

Line of Fire: Eminence Front
OK, all tragedy aside — and it's obviously not easy to put a little girl getting shot or an assault on a woman aside — but the moment I jump highest is when Van Doren gets suckered by Counts' former cellmate. The scrap in the kitchen? Tough one, too.

That said, what's up with this show condoning the Abu Ghraib treatment of a suspect — even one so vile?

Having Malloy deliver the speech about justice and cruelty is an interesting choice, however. As in: Where does he get off?

And while we're on the topic of justice: This wasn't a great show; it was often on the nose and heavy-handed, and could've used some humor here and there. But it was a good one and was getting better. It deserved a little more time to make its case. And we deserve to find out what would've happened when Janet Malloy decided to turn on her husband.