Memorials

IF it's been a year or two since you've shopped for a mattress, you're in for some surprises. That memory foam bed that once seemed so novel? It's now decidedly mainstream. Latex is the hot material of choice. And that's not all that's changed. Choices are multiplying -- especially on the luxury end -- and prices are too.

Memorial Day is a day off for many of us, so as you're lighting the fire and throwing another burger on the grill, consider this quiz, which talks about the meaning of the day. If you get all 10, well, pop open a beverage and have another dog. 1. Memorial Day was originally called something else. What was it? a.  Day of the Dead b. Remembrance Day c. Decoration Day d. Armistice Day 2. During what war did the day originate? a. Revolutionary War b. Civil War c. World War I d. Korean War 3. Several places claim they are the real founders of the day. Which place in the South might have been the earliest adopter?

He had wandered the world, selling butter in czarist Siberia, fighting in France during World War I, walking the Appalachian Trail with his dog -- and strolling down Colorado Boulevard, unofficially bringing up the rear of the Rose Parade one year. But when he got to Laguna Beach, Eiler Larsen was so captivated by it that he stayed and welcomed the rest of the world there. Laguna Beach returned the salute, naming him its official greeter.

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer -- and of the summer vacation season. So what are you doing on your summer vacation? We're betting you'll be snapping a few photos. For the second year, The Times Travel section will run a "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" photo issue -- Sept. 23 this year -- featuring reader photos selected from among the dozens and dozens that are submitted. Our photo editors sort through them and will choose about six to eight to run in the print edition and more to run online.

When Tara Correa-McMullen was 14, she got the kind of big break that aspiring actors long for -- a recurring role on the TV show "Judging Amy." She played a former gang member who over the course of the season is urged by the show's main character to turn her life around. At the end of the season, however, her character is killed in prison. Last week, Tara, 16, was hanging out with friends in front of an apartment complex in Inglewood when she was fatally shot.

Like thousands of other high schools in the nation, the picturesque campus of Huntington Beach High has its cheery icons of student life. There are bold wall paintings of oil derricks, reminding everyone that this is the home of the fighting Oilers. There is a large mural depicting smiling students of all races and ethnic groups. And there are decorations of black and orange--the school colors--setting off its graceful, European-style buildings.

A memorial service for Zola Taylor of the R&B group the Platters will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Angelus Funeral Home, 3875 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. Taylor died April 30 of complications from pneumonia.

Andrae Crouch shared a reminiscence. Stevie Wonder sang one of his songs. Politicians heaped him with praise. And about 4,000 other friends and admirers danced and swayed in the aisles as the voices of 500 choir members resounded across the ornate auditorium. For the Rev. James Cleveland, the acclaimed king of gospel music, it was a fitting final tribute. Cleveland, 59, the first gospel singer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, died Feb.

Jeffrey Coprich, director of the Inner City Mass Choir, almost canceled the group's annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend. The last year had been filled with too much grief for Coprich and his Watts community. First, a 16-year-old girl in his choir was accidentally shot. Then, in a highly publicized case, his 82-year-old godmother, Viola McClain, was slain on her porch, allegedly at the hands of two teenagers.

Parents and friends of children killed in gang violence near the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts held a memorial service Friday that was underscored by a police investigation of a murder a few yards away. The service at the Imperial Courts gymnasium was held in remembrance of victims such as 8-year-old Kanita Hailey, killed in a drive-by shooting while playing in front of her home in the housing project in August, 1989. The group gathered around a bronze plaque bearing Hailey's name.

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is like Christmas for gearheads and a day many casual fans also turn their eyes toward some of motor racing's most popular events. The day kicks off with the Grand Prix of Monaco, where Formula One drivers maneuver through the streets of picturesque Monte Carlo. Sebastian Vettel of the Red Bull Racing team has won the F1 championship the last two years, but there have been five different winners (including Vettel) in the first five races this season.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Andrew Bynum was right. Close-out games can be easy. The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped all over the Lakers in the fourth quarter of their 106-90 Game 5 victory Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, ending the Lakers' season yet again in the Western Conference semifinals. It wasn't as bad as last season's 36-point blowout loss in Dallas, and there won't be any carry-over suspensions for next season, but the two-championship run the Lakers put together couldn't have seemed any further in the past.

I just read Scott Kraft's article ["Looking Up, Up, Up in Hong Kong," May 6]. I lived in Hong Kong from the mid-1970s to 1980, and his article refreshed my memory. Hong Kong is one location that changes ever so quickly. I can only imagine what it must look like today - much, much more of what I loved, adored and encountered in my past living experience. I would suggest another film, "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," as parts of it were filmed in Hong Kong. Jennifer Jones and William Holden - a very touching story set in a dramatic time to come.

Memorial Day looms like a giant prize for the work-weary. But where to go? In the May 13 issue of the Travel section, we outlined seven weekend escapes that can give you a break from the tedium of the daily turmoil. We suggested getaways to Ventura , San Francisco , Del Mar , Portland , Ore., Las Vegas , Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage and San Juan Capistrano . Watch for a story on Arroyo Grande in this Sunday's print edition and online.

Derek Fisher has a career's worth of Lakers moments to remember. James Harden has one he'd rather forget. For better or worse, the Oklahoma City duo will confront those memories when the Thunder plays the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. "It seems that's just the way it's supposed to be," Fisher told reporters in Oklahoma City about a matchup that starts Monday night with Game 1 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. It will be the first time Fisher has faced his former team in the playoffs.

Chris Horner had perhaps his most successful year as a cyclist in 2011. He won the Amgen Tour of California, finished second in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, a celebrated one-day race, and finished fourth at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Yet what most cycling fans remember about Horner's 2011 racing is something Horner doesn't. During the seventh stage of the Tour de France last July, Horner crashed. He suffered a concussion, broken nose and broken ribs. But despite being woozy and dazed, Horner got back on his bike and finished, though he had no idea where he was or even quite what he was doing.

Relatives, close friends and generations of dancers tossed worn ballet slippers and white roses into the open grave of Rudolf Nureyev as the ballet superstar was buried Tuesday at a Russian Orthodox cemetery. Nureyev, 54, who died last Wednesday of a wasting disease widely believed to be AIDS, was laid to rest in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois outside Paris, final resting place of more than 7,000 exiled Russians. A service was held simultaneously in St.

The heavy wooden gate to the British Cemetery is kept locked. To get inside, the curious must bang their fists and shout their intentions over the sounds of boys yelling in the streets, the call to prayer from the local mosque and the roar of foreign military planes overhead. Hidden behind its tall wall are memorials to Englishmen, Europeans and even a few Americans -- all of whom came to this war-torn land in the service of their country and lost their lives. Afghanistan has long been called the "graveyard of empires," and nowhere is that somber designation more real than at this smallish cemetery, with its gravestones marking the fallen, some from forgotten battles that occurred more than a century past, others from deadly incidents that made headlines just weeks ago. Also known as the White Cemetery, the graveyard was originally a burial site for soldiers killed in Britain's ill-fated colonial adventures in Afghanistan: the Anglo-Afghan wars of the 19th century.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Memorial Day — Memorial Day has become an opportunity for criminals to target veterans as well as active-duty military personnel and their families, the Better Business Bureau said in a recent bulletin. Older veterans are often targeted by scams this time of year, the BBB said. "The unique lifestyle of our service members makes them prime targets for scammers," said Brenda Linnington, director of the BBB's military division.

A good little travel article on Bratislava, Slovakia, by Alice Short ["Cultural Blender," April 29]. The cafe Presburg honors the original name of the city. It would have been nice if she had mentioned the great composer-pianist J.N. Hummel, who was born there. I also enjoyed the city; my main reason for stopping was Hummel's house/museum. C. Blanchard Santa Fe, N.M. :: I enjoyed the article on Bratislava, which evoked my appreciation for a similar city. It's an outpost of lively Austro-Hungarian culture (with a Slavic overlayer)