Celebrations

In the wake of spectacular reviews for the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Don Mischer felt as if he'd won a gold medal. "Certainly, this is the biggest thing I have ever done in my career and will ever do in my career," Mischer, producer of the opening and closing ceremonies, said last week. "This has been put together by a team of creative people. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we have been thrilled to do it."

Thousands of Southern Californians took to the streets Tuesday night--attending block parties, marches and candlelight vigils--as part of an annual national anti-crime effort called National Night Out. "The basic premise is to increase public awareness of crime and crime prevention," said Sheriff's Deputy Harry Bovie, who organized a march from the department's Temple City station. "We want to send a message to criminals that we're organized and we're fighting back.

The Jewish War Veterans Assn., the nation's oldest active veterans organization, celebrated its centennial anniversary Monday afternoon amid pomp and ceremony at the Sepulveda VA Medical Center. A standing-room-only crowd sang patriotic songs, offered solemn salutes to the flag and listened intently as U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Van Nuys) and other speakers thanked the veterans for their military service and for their ongoing volunteer work in Los Angeles and around the country.

Before strip malls and wide freeways became symbols of life in and around the Valley, a legion of Native Americans burned incense, collected precious eagle feathers and danced away bad spirits. As a boy, Charlie Cooke heard his grandmother reminisce about darker times for Native Americans, when they were forced to live in a San Fernando mission by Spaniards who had taken the land for their own.

Paul Bravo was watching an NFL game at his Bay Area home last fall, months before he and the San Jose Clash would begin the Major League Soccer season. After watching Green Bay Packer wide receiver Robert Brooks leap into the stands after scoring a touchdown, Bravo thought to himself: If I ever score a goal, that is what I would do. And he did. Against the Colorado Rapids on May 8, Bravo scored the go-ahead goal in a 3-1 victory.

Today ought to be the most spectacular day of the year in downtown Los Angeles. Nearly every building, it seems, has a flagpole on its roof. And today is Flag Day. But don't look for red, white and blue to be waving from the hundreds of abandoned flagpoles that crown office buildings along Broadway or Spring Street or that top off commercial buildings in the Wilshire district or Hollywood.

Valentine's Day chocolates and teddy bears can't beat what Helen Lake celebrated Wednesday: her 104th birthday. A party is planned today with family and friends at Ocean House, a retirement community in Santa Monica, to honor the milestone. A spirited woman, Lake tells stories with an amusing tell-it-like-it-is honesty. She is a news junkie who spends much of her days reading the Los Angeles Times--ever since 1923, Lake is quick to tell.

Despite being born and raised in America, Narek Mardirosian's soul is shaken by a genocide carried out overseas generations ago. Relatives and friends sometimes cry when they speak of how 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. And the bustling Armenian American community throughout the Los Angeles area steadfastly remembers that genocide--in fact, unites around it. "It's our cause," Mardirosian, 17, said simply. "It becomes a part of your life.

A healthy-looking Pope John Paul II led Roman Catholics in Easter Sunday celebrations and prayed for a victory over death in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ireland, the Middle East and the world's other trouble spots. The 75-year-old pontiff appeared in good form as he celebrated Mass before more than 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square, read his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and wished the world a happy Easter in 57 languages.

Despite being born and raised in America, Narek Mardirosian's soul is shaken by a genocide carried out overseas generations ago. Relatives and friends sometimes cry when they speak of how 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. And the bustling Armenian American community living throughout Los Angeles steadfastly remembers that genocide--in fact, unites around it. "It's our cause," Mardirosian, 17, said simply. "It becomes a part of your life.