Naivete

It was as simple as this: Raise $237,000 in six months, and they could start their own school. Just one problem: Johnathan Williams and Kevin Sved were all of 25, and didn't have two nickels between them. A big night out was a trip to Jack in the Box. Where in the world were they supposed to get their hands on upward of 200 grand? Los Angeles Unified School District officials literally laughed at them.

Maria VanderKolk identifies with the naive, idealistic scoutmaster-turned-senator in the classic movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." "I remind myself very much of Jefferson Smith," said VanderKolk, 26, as she completed preparation last week to be the youngest supervisor in the 117-year history of Ventura County. VanderKolk, who upset incumbent Madge L.

I discovered only too soon how quickly . . . you just fizzled into being his appendage. . . . Mandela's wife. Mandela's child. Mandela's niece. Thriving in his glory was the simplest cocoon to shield in from the glaring public, or to boost your extinct ego. I vowed that none of this would apply to me.

As Vanilla Ice's mondo 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby" blares over the speakers at Bobby McGee's in Burbank, a young man takes over the dance floor, pantomiming to near perfection the beleaguered rapper's every video move. No matter that MTV recently voted it the No. 1 scariest video ever created. Bobby McGee's clientele doesn't care about cool. By the looks of things, they just want to have fun. Although it's only minutes from Hollywood, the nightspot is closer to Kansas on the sophistication map.

"Going to Deliver Milk" is the title Alexander Ross has given this early memory. The painting has a childlike quality, and this is fitting. Outside a farmhouse, a small boy sits on the buckboard of a horse-drawn wagon, waiting as Grandfather mixes fresh cows' milk with water. Grandmother is there too, carrying two pails from the cows. Then there's "Smile." This one, the artist explains, was inspired by an old photo of him on a pony on a Bronx sidewalk, beaming.

Richard Riordan's journey to the perilous halls of the state Capitol on Thursday revealed a lot about the new mayor's strengths and weaknesses. Riordan, who is a Republican, was smart enough to surround himself with Democrats when he met with the Democratic leaders of the Legislature. The meetings were to discuss state plans to slash aid to cities and counties. Republican Gov. Pete Wilson has proposed taking $2.6 billion from local government to balance his budget.

Every so often, I am enormously cheered to see something happen to attest to the infinite capacity of the human being for self-deception. I like to see guys going down after the Loch Ness Monster. Fat people entering the Boston Marathon. Drunks trying to climb the Matterhorn. I'm relieved to see people believe Rambo is getting everything straightened out over in Southeast Asia, and I can't help applauding guys who bet and raise into pat hands or play pool with guys carrying their own cues.

As Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" powerfully demonstrated, lots of people are willing to spend serious money to see films with Christian subject matter. "The Nativity Story" is attempting to tap into that market by Leaving to Mel the Things That Are Mel's and concentrating on the uplifting beginning of Jesus' life rather than the violent close. Unfortunately for potential viewers, the trailer for "The Nativity Story" has gotten this film's nature exactly wrong.

"Can you imagine any times in history that were innocent?" asks Haig Dulgarian. He complains that he is always reading or hearing of something that happened 20 or 40 years ago "in more innocent times. . . ." I have noticed that our pundits often characterize the '50s, whose fads and pastimes are now in nostalgic vogue, as "innocent," along with the '40s, '30s and '20s. I wonder in what way? Our species has not been innocent since Eve ate the apple.

The lesson of "High School Musical 2" is a poignant but familiar one to readers of Romantic poetry -- how quickly the bud of youthful innocence is gone! One minute you're wide-eyed and helplessly bursting out in song; the next you're eyeing your BlackBerry and ready to throttle your agent for low-bidding your next gig. Not that the gang from East High School has entered the big time. The setup of the sequel merely has the kids working at the ritzy local country club.