Olden Days

Your section "3 Meals, 4 People, 10 Dollars" (Feb. 6) reminds me of radio Chef Boy-Ar-Dee's "A Dinner for Four, A Dollar, No More" in olden days. Even our recession is subject to inflation. MARTY DELMAN, Los Angeles

Underrated: The Moonlight Rollerway at 5110 San Fernando Rd. in Glendale. It offers a true trip down nostalgia lane, with a fabulous roller-skating rink and an organ and organist that are top-notch. Also, you may see teenagers and others rehearsing for competitions -- their wholesome looks and enthusiasm are really a throwback to the "olden days." The irony of its location -- across from Home Depot -- only serves to underscore the glory of the experience. Ruth Kramer Ziony Los Feliz

Underrated: The Moonlight Rollerway at 5110 San Fernando Rd. in Glendale. It offers a true trip down nostalgia lane, with a fabulous roller-skating rink and an organ and organist that are top-notch. Also, you may see teenagers and others rehearsing for competitions -- their wholesome looks and enthusiasm are really a throwback to the "olden days." The irony of its location -- across from Home Depot -- only serves to underscore the glory of the experience. Ruth Kramer Ziony Los Feliz

I write to express my agreement with reader Sherry Quesada (Letters, Dec. 17) that the Travel section, my favorite part of the Sunday paper and largely the reason I subscribe to it, is shrinking in quantity and quality. I long for the olden days when Jerry Hulse was the editor and the Travel section was thick, informative, comprehensive and always filled with great stories and tidbits of insight. Your current editor and staff do a sufficient job, and they deserve praise. However, I think there is much room for improvement.

I write to express my agreement with reader Sherry Quesada (Letters, Dec. 17) that the Travel section, my favorite part of the Sunday paper and largely the reason I subscribe to it, is shrinking in quantity and quality. I long for the olden days when Jerry Hulse was the editor and the Travel section was thick, informative, comprehensive and always filled with great stories and tidbits of insight. Your current editor and staff do a sufficient job, and they deserve praise. However, I think there is much room for improvement.

When I wake up on Sunday morning I head straight for this fine newspaper. I dig through it and pick out the comics, the sports and, yes, Calendar. In the olden days, when I got to the middle of Calendar, I would get up off the couch and take the Book Review to my mom because she likes to do the crossword puzzle. Thanks, you guys. Now I don't have anything nice to do for my mom on Sundays. JANET ALISON HARE Downey

Has the event we feared most finally come to pass? After all these happy months of beautiful covers, have you relapsed into that beastly black-and-white of olden days (which we haven't missed a bit)? Oh, must this be? Think, O Calendar, think of the hundreds of thousands of men, women, children and pets who shall nevermore, upon dismantling their Sunday papers, rejoice in the sight of lovely prints in vibrant colors gracing the front page of Calendar! Think of the sighs, the tears, the anguished wails as they realize that the days of color covers are gone forever!

History lovers sang two rounds of "Happy Birthday" under a blazing sun Saturday as they kicked off festivities for this neighborhood's 112th anniversary and California's 150th year of statehood. Flamenco dancing, mariachi music and a display of Native American artifacts were featured Saturday at the grounds around the Homestead Acre in Chatsworth Park South. The festivities continue today with scheduled performances by Scottish and Chinese dancers.

Well, that was your basic drubbing, wasn't it? In Game 3 between the men of the Port and the men of the Lake, it was a water-tight defense that made the difference for the winners, so don't go listening to any talk about "Showtime" having returned to Los Angeles. This one belonged to the Laker defense, not the offense. This was NO-time. This one was Sam Perkins taking charges and Byron Scott swatting shots and A.C. Green gobbling the 'bounds. NO-time.

It looks like a board of directors. It sounds like a board of directors. It acts like a board of directors. And, for all intents and purposes, the advisory committee organized last week by Berkman & Daniels, the local public relations agency, will function like a board of directors. Except for one little thing--the group has no fiduciary responsibility for the company.

History lovers sang two rounds of "Happy Birthday" under a blazing sun Saturday as they kicked off festivities for this neighborhood's 112th anniversary and California's 150th year of statehood. Flamenco dancing, mariachi music and a display of Native American artifacts were featured Saturday at the grounds around the Homestead Acre in Chatsworth Park South. The festivities continue today with scheduled performances by Scottish and Chinese dancers.

Michael and Linda Sebo's 13 relatives won't have to cram into the couple's apartment on Thanksgiving Day. This year, turkey and stuffing will be served in the dining room of their first home in Costa Mesa. And there are 800 people to thank. In a so-called blitz build, volunteers for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County took less than a week to construct the 1,239-square-foot, four-bedroom house. What was only a concrete foundation last Saturday is ready for its occupants today.

In the 1930s Broadway legend Ira Gershwin wrote the lyric, "Of thee I sing, baby," a ditty that offered a hip take on love and patriotism. Even though the song was for a political satire, Americans at the time were aghast, horrified at the flip take on the almost sacred "My Country Tis of Thee." In the 1990s, a once staunchly proud nation barely blinks an eye when L.A. rock group Rage Against The Machine shouts epithets against the flag and other symbols of an "imperialist" nation.

The Brea Historical Society's 1996 exhibit "People of Brea" opens Thursday. The walk-through display presents scenes from Brea's early history, including a doctor's office, schoolroom and a church wedding, as well as antique tools and equipment from the city's oil and citrus industries. Also on display will be mannequins dressed in early Brea fire, police and postal uniforms, and a World War I soldier's uniform. Biographies of early Brea families are also highlighted.

Your section "3 Meals, 4 People, 10 Dollars" (Feb. 6) reminds me of radio Chef Boy-Ar-Dee's "A Dinner for Four, A Dollar, No More" in olden days. Even our recession is subject to inflation. MARTY DELMAN, Los Angeles

In late 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt received a troubling report on the political situation in Mexico. Manuel Avila Camacho, a democrat who supported friendly relations with the United States, had won the presidential election, but his opponent, Gen. Juan Andreu Almazan, was threatening to void the results in the streets. Worse yet, Almazan leaned toward the Axis powers, and he was actively supported by Nazi elements bent on revolution.

Michael and Linda Sebo's 13 relatives won't have to cram into the couple's apartment on Thanksgiving Day. This year, turkey and stuffing will be served in the dining room of their first home in Costa Mesa. And there are 800 people to thank. In a so-called blitz build, volunteers for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County took less than a week to construct the 1,239-square-foot, four-bedroom house. What was only a concrete foundation last Saturday is ready for its occupants today.

In the 1930s Broadway legend Ira Gershwin wrote the lyric, "Of thee I sing, baby," a ditty that offered a hip take on love and patriotism. Even though the song was for a political satire, Americans at the time were aghast, horrified at the flip take on the almost sacred "My Country Tis of Thee." In the 1990s, a once staunchly proud nation barely blinks an eye when L.A. rock group Rage Against The Machine shouts epithets against the flag and other symbols of an "imperialist" nation.

Well, that was your basic drubbing, wasn't it? In Game 3 between the men of the Port and the men of the Lake, it was a water-tight defense that made the difference for the winners, so don't go listening to any talk about "Showtime" having returned to Los Angeles. This one belonged to the Laker defense, not the offense. This was NO-time. This one was Sam Perkins taking charges and Byron Scott swatting shots and A.C. Green gobbling the 'bounds. NO-time.

Has the event we feared most finally come to pass? After all these happy months of beautiful covers, have you relapsed into that beastly black-and-white of olden days (which we haven't missed a bit)? Oh, must this be? Think, O Calendar, think of the hundreds of thousands of men, women, children and pets who shall nevermore, upon dismantling their Sunday papers, rejoice in the sight of lovely prints in vibrant colors gracing the front page of Calendar! Think of the sighs, the tears, the anguished wails as they realize that the days of color covers are gone forever!