Enduring

This is in regard to state Sen. Jim Brulte's reference to drunken sailors (Inside Politics, Jan. 28). Many thanks to Democratic campaign director Bob Mulholland for his righteous indignation at this insolent slur. However, having served on a destroyer in the '50s, I must confess that when we hit port we worked hard to preserve the image that has endured so obstinately over the years. Sid Karsh La Canada Flintridge

BOSTON -- A memorial for the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings ended Tuesday with a thunderous speech from Vice President Joe Biden, who closed an afternoon highlighting remarks from bombing survivors and dignitaries. “We will never yield, we will never cower, America will never ever, ever stand down,” Biden said. “We are Boston. We are America. We respond, we endure, we overcome, and we own the finish line! God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.” The afternoon will continue with  a flag-raising and a moment of silence at the marathon finish line at 2:49 p.m., the moment the bombs exploded.

In these days of intense religious and political controversy, how comforting it was to turn to page 2 of The Times and find Associated Press' photo of young Abe Cobb and his ribbon-winning calf (Part I, Aug. 12). The enduring beauty of love, awareness and anticipation captured there have "made my day!" Thanks! EDWARD C. BAIRD Covina

Nobody got hurt. The Lakers didn't lose by 50. There are only three games left. These were reasons for the Lakers to celebrate a 112-95 loss Friday to Golden State at Staples Center. The season that won't ever end is down to a handful of days. Nobody's complaining. No crying. Tension was sucked out of this season a month ago, if not longer. BOX SCORE: Golden State 112, Lakers 95 There's a lot of losing, though, six in a row for the Lakers (25-54) after a late run fell short, extending their team record for losses in a season.

I hope Steve Harvey will find it in his heart to maintain Iowa State at No. 1 in the Bottom Ten. As a loyal fan now enduring my 50th Cyclone season, I'm ready for a championship of any kind. ROBERT H. WHITE Manhattan Beach

While "Operation Infinite Justice" was a bad cover name for our fight against terrorism, "Operation Enduring Freedom" is worse. It is unfortunate that the PR folks have gotten hold of the development of public code names ever since the 1989 "Just Cause" invasion of Panama. But if the name has to convey a message, at least make it a clear one. "Enduring Freedom" sounds like freedom is something that has to be patiently tolerated, rather than a cherished human right. John Maloney Anaheim In lieu of Operation Infinite Justice, how about Operation Hide and Seek?

"Risky 'Exotic' Loans Fostering a Refi Cycle" (Oct. 10) illustrates how fragile this house-of-cards housing market has become. The cycle is being driven by greed from investors and greed from the mortgage industry. As with a balloon enduring ever-increasing pressure from within, the outcome should be no surprise. Michael J. Reardon Chino Hills

In Randal Kleiser's article on "Grease," the song "Sandy" is credited solely to Louis St. Louis (" 'Grease' Is Still the Word," March 15). The song was actually co-written with Scott Simon of Sha Na Na. Screamin' Scott deserves his due. Also, Sha Na Na, which I have been a member of for 29 years, contributed six performances of songs from the original Broadway production and other rock 'n' roll classics to the enduring "Grease" soundtrack: "Blue Moon,"...

Feb. 3 will mark the 54th anniversary of our liberation from Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, Philippines. Once again I wish to express our thanks and appreciation to our gallant rescuers, the 1st Cavalry. We had been held prisoners by the Japanese for 37 months, enduring multiple hardships, culminating in slow starvation. Bombed by our own forces for five months, we endured this, since it meant our liberation was coming. The men of the 1st Cavalry gave up their own rations, showed unbelievable kindness to our children and admiring respect to all of us. God bless them.

Re Daood Moosa's March 28 letter accusing Father Serra of "converting Indians . . . by pouring boiling water" on them: In reality, Junipero Serra did more for the California Indians than anyone in thousands of years. He brought civilization to Stone Age tribes who had not yet invented the wheel. He brought agriculture, a written language, permanent housing and the skills to prosper at many trades, all while treating them as humans worthy of conversion and intermarriage, unlike the English colonial approach.

Everyone knows Mickey Rooney, but who really remembers the extent of his success? How many now living can testify not only to how large this man loomed over the American film landscape but also to the particular qualities that made him such an enormous success in his prime? Everyone knows Rooney, who died Sunday in Los Angeles at the great age of 93, precisely because he lived so long, the tireless last surviving star of Hollywood's 1930s Golden Age, a performer always ready to make an appearance when there was a crowd waiting to applaud.

As Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca was roundly and rightly criticized for his failure to prevent or correct the abuse of jail inmates over the course of his 15 years in office, most notably during the final few years of turmoil that culminated in the indictment of 20 deputies and Baca's resignation. It is not uncommon, when a controversial figure leaves power, for critics to denigrate every aspect of his tenure and leadership philosophy, and it would be easy to write off anything that happened at the jails on Baca's watch as being a disaster that must be reversed at the earliest possible moment.

They're known as Arabbers and their profession as Arabbing - words that are supposed to evoke the nomadic life of a street merchant. Arabbers sell fruit and vegetables from horse-drawn carts, much as the first Arabbers did when the profession took root in Baltimore after the Civil War as a way to provide blacks with work. Once a thriving niche with more than 40 stables across the city, the trade has declined to just three stables. The job of guiding a horse and a day's worth of inventory through city streets has always been hazardous.

Huber Matos Benitez, whose disenchantment with the Cuban Revolution he had helped lead brought him the wrath of Fidel Castro and 20 years in prison, died Thursday in Miami after a heart attack. He was 95. His death was confirmed by his grandson, Huber Matos Garsault. In 1952 Matos was a teacher and rice farmer in his early 30s when Gen. Fulgencio Batista led a coup that overthrew democratically elected President Carlos Prio Socarras. Hoping to restore democracy to his country, Matos took up arms against Batista's forces.

Fear not, lovers of paper and leather-bound tomes. Print books are going to survive the e-book revolution. That's the message hidden inside a new Pew report on the reading habits of American adults. Yes, the growing use of tablets means people are reading more e-books than ever. But hardly anyone is giving up print books completely. And adult readership of print books actually rebounded last year, after a period of decline, according to the study by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on behalf of the Pew Research Center.

In a reunion game of sorts, the Clippers got knocked in the mouth by a more aggressive and harder playing Phoenix Suns team. The Clippers got run over by the high-powered Suns, 107-88, Monday night at Staples Center in a game that featured three participants facing their former teams. But that became secondary to the Clippers easily suffering their worst beating of the season, cutting their lead over the Suns in the Pacific Division to just a half-game. "They beat us in everything," Chris Paul said.

Raze Dodger Stadium (July 11)? That would be another loss of a true Angeleno gem. There is something magical about being so close to the city but feeling otherworldly when one is at Dodger Stadium. Placing a new stadium near the intersection of the 10 and 110 freeways is hardly inviting. Developer Alan Casden envisions much-needed homes near downtown. Yet housing in Los Angeles is and has always been an enduring problem -- bulldozing Dodger Stadium is not a solution. Seating can be amended, food can be improved, but once Dodger Stadium is gone, it will be gone forever both physically and emotionally.

I'd like to thank the academy for nominating all those wonderful individuals in all those wonderful categories, and for giving them the opportunity to thank all the other wonderful people who believed in, befriended and, of course, begat them . I'd also like to thank ABC for presenting 3 hours and 13 minutes of an Oscar show that deservedly should be cited for its enduring and unsententious fulsomeness. Finally, I gotta thank my Aunt Plethora for lending me her word-processor in order that I might convey all these wonderful thanks.

The title of Elizabeth Spencer's eighth book of short fiction, "Starting Over," carries a double meaning: It refers both to the characters in the collection and to the author herself. Ninety-two years old, winner of a PEN/Malamud Award and five O. Henry prizes as well as nine novels, she last released a book, "The Southern Women," in 2001. Spencer, however, has been far from inactive, publishing in literary journals and seeing her best-known work, the 1960 novella "The Light in the Piazza," adapted as a Tony Award-winning musical in 2005.