Souvenir

My parents can't agree about what to do with the book. My mother has wanted to chuck it from the minute she married my dad in 1969. But my father insists on displaying it, albeit upside-down, on the bookshelf next to his collection of Jewish texts. His uncle, Eddie Cohen, brought the book home from World War II in 1945. As I heard the story, Eddie, my great-uncle, took part in the storming of Omaha Beach and went on to fight in Germany. During one battle, he killed a German soldier and went through his rucksack, claiming the copy of "Mein Kampf" he found inside as his dubious souvenir.

A recent trip to Europe was an exercise in saving money. Here is some of what I discovered. Ground transportation: Taxis may seem like the most convenient and civilized way to get around, and sometimes they are, but sometimes they're expensive and annoying. They're also subject to all the traffic everyone else is sitting in. Subway systems are efficient and traffic-proof (unless there's a problem on a line). They can get you to most tourist destinations faster, and they are actually easy to use - easier than figuring out the rules for hailing a cab in the same city.

The Seattle Police Department made headlines this month when it decided to hand out bags of Doritos to attendees of the city's annual Hempfest. Now a few enterprising recipients of the complimentary chips are trying to make some money off them.  Type "Hempfest Doritos" into EBay and you'll come up with more than 30 listings, with one small bag going for as much as $55. The organizers of the 22nd annual Seattle Hempfest describe ...

More than 3 million Jews lived in pre-World War II Poland, making up 10% of the population. Today, the Jewish population is at best a tenth of a percent of what it was in 1939. Yet the world is not devoid of Polish Jews. As noted by Louise Steinman in "The Crooked Mirror," her firsthand report on what remains of Jewish life in contemporary Poland, four out of five American Jews are of Polish-Jewish descent - a diaspora within the diaspora. Steinman's previous book, "The Souvenir," was prompted by her discovery of a Japanese flag among her father's World War II effects and, among other things, details her subsequent trip to Japan to return this enigmatic trophy.

Baseball fans everywhere know the unwritten rules of the game. Such as: When a player loses his grip on the bat while taking a swing and it flies into the stands, the fan who winds up with it returns the bat to the player, who then gives the fan an older bat as a souvenir. However, as you can see from the video above, when Mariners catcher Kelly Shoppach took a swing and his bat went flying into the stands, a fan collected it and quickly strolled for the exit. It happened during the seventh inning of an exhibition game on Thursday.

One of the least acknowledged relationships in the literature of the stage, and in literature in general, is that of mother and daughter, which is surprising: Daughters are close to their mothers in a way that sons are not close to their fathers. Women share a sexual complicity, or a consciousness about flesh and the spirit, family and society, that most men tend to arrive at second-hand.

Interior designer Frances Merrill steps inside Phukaw, a new import shop chock-full of traditional Thai home goods, apparel and vintage textiles. It's one of those inexplicable Hollywood Boulevard juxtapositions - authentic design from Thailand's northern hill tribes, adjacent to Jumbo's Clown Room, the pole-dancing club where Courtney Love worked. Merrill grabs a roll of indigo-colored embroidered fabric, a handmade necklace and hair fob to be repurposed as room decoration, and a gingham towel.

66Regarding "In Old Virginia, a President Revealed" (Feb. 14): I visited Mount Vernon several years ago. President Washington still has much meaning to people. While I was heading toward his tomb, I saw a man stand at attention and salute. When I got closer, I saw that he was a U.S. army general. He had a camera and souvenir bag, so he was one of the tourists, not a ceremonial guard. MICHAEL KIRWAN Venice, Calif.

Regarding Bill Plaschke's comments in his article, "Strawberry Was the One Who Erred," the only one who should have his mouth taped is Mr. Plaschke. He is way off the mark to think that the fan who stole the ball from Darryl was in his right as a ticket-holder to claim his souvenir. Ask any of the 50,000 other people who pay to see the home team win. If Dr. Perez keeps it up, he most likely will not be stealing any home runs from the Dodgers during the World Series. JONATHAN MILLER Reseda

I was fascinated to read Calendar's list of 500 features that are due to be released this year, but request that you add seven Cinema Group Pictures. They include "White of the Eye" (March) starring David Keith and Cathy Moriarty; "Jack's Back" (April ) starring James Spader and Cindy Gibb; and later this year, "Souvenir" starring Christopher Plummer and Catherine Hicks; "Never on Tuesday," "Higher Education," "Brain Damage" and the $15-million sci-horror film, "The Blob." MARCIE ROBINSON Cinema Group Entertainment Los Angeles

It's a ritual. Every winter my husband and I spend two weeks at the same spot on the central Oregon coast. We go to breathe. Breathing is different here - cleaner, deeper, more resolute - just different. We nest in an oceanfront condo near Nye Beach. Always the same unit, reserved a year in advance. Our frontyard is a wide expanse of sandy beach that stretches a mile or so north to Yaquina Head - and maybe six miles south to the rock jetty at the entrance to Newport Harbor. The view from recliners in our condo is among the indelible images we take home - souvenirs of the mind to see us through less tranquil times.

The Seattle Police Department made headlines this month when it decided to hand out bags of Doritos to attendees of the city's annual Hempfest. Now a few enterprising recipients of the complimentary chips are trying to make some money off them.  Type "Hempfest Doritos" into EBay and you'll come up with more than 30 listings, with one small bag going for as much as $55. The organizers of the 22nd annual Seattle Hempfest describe ...

Baseball fans everywhere know the unwritten rules of the game. Such as: When a player loses his grip on the bat while taking a swing and it flies into the stands, the fan who winds up with it returns the bat to the player, who then gives the fan an older bat as a souvenir. However, as you can see from the video above, when Mariners catcher Kelly Shoppach took a swing and his bat went flying into the stands, a fan collected it and quickly strolled for the exit. It happened during the seventh inning of an exhibition game on Thursday.

Interior designer Frances Merrill steps inside Phukaw, a new import shop chock-full of traditional Thai home goods, apparel and vintage textiles. It's one of those inexplicable Hollywood Boulevard juxtapositions - authentic design from Thailand's northern hill tribes, adjacent to Jumbo's Clown Room, the pole-dancing club where Courtney Love worked. Merrill grabs a roll of indigo-colored embroidered fabric, a handmade necklace and hair fob to be repurposed as room decoration, and a gingham towel.

Want to spend Valentine's Day with Rihanna , Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga ? They're all at Madame Tussauds Hollywood (sort of) along with Elvis Presley and the late Whitney Houston . Couples who buy a $40 package to tour the wax museum on Thursday also will receive a souvenir of their entwined hands in wax - for free. The deal: The "couple's handhold," as Madame Tussauds explains it, is just what it sounds like: You and your Valentine (or anyone) clutch hands and dip them in wax a few times.

My parents can't agree about what to do with the book. My mother has wanted to chuck it from the minute she married my dad in 1969. But my father insists on displaying it, albeit upside-down, on the bookshelf next to his collection of Jewish texts. His uncle, Eddie Cohen, brought the book home from World War II in 1945. As I heard the story, Eddie, my great-uncle, took part in the storming of Omaha Beach and went on to fight in Germany. During one battle, he killed a German soldier and went through his rucksack, claiming the copy of "Mein Kampf" he found inside as his dubious souvenir.

Want to spend Valentine's Day with Rihanna , Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga ? They're all at Madame Tussauds Hollywood (sort of) along with Elvis Presley and the late Whitney Houston . Couples who buy a $40 package to tour the wax museum on Thursday also will receive a souvenir of their entwined hands in wax - for free. The deal: The "couple's handhold," as Madame Tussauds explains it, is just what it sounds like: You and your Valentine (or anyone) clutch hands and dip them in wax a few times.

Carmona is on National Road IV, situated between Seville (21 miles to the south and west) and Cordoba, 65 miles northeast. There is no rail connection, but buses run from Seville hourly. Although cars are easy to rent, they are expensive. Carmona is devoid of typical fast-food and souvenir tourist stores, but has ceramic and antique shops just outside the gates of the Moorish alcazar in the newer part of town.

Usain Bolt charmed the world during the Olympics and won his third gold medal Saturday by anchoring a world-record 400-meter relay performance, but still he was nearly denied one prize. It was a modest request -- all he wanted was the yellow baton he and his Jamaican teammates had carried around the Olympic Stadium track in 36.84 electrifying seconds, but a stubborn race official refused. "He was saying I couldn't keep it because it's the rules," Bolt said, bending his fingers to put "rules" in quotation marks.

Just when it seems the Kings finally have everything - the Stanley Cup, the love of a city, the respect of a league - it turns out something is still missing. It's three inches in diameter, weighs about six ounces, and is absolutely huge. The Kings may have discovered their championship soul, but they still can't find their championship puck. Two weeks after winning their first Stanley Cup in the franchise's 45-year history, the Kings don't know the whereabouts of the puck that was on the ice when the final game ended.