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Mailbag - June 3, 2000

Robert Gardner’s column (“Charlie Thomas was a snobby, lovable

Republican,” May 23) concerning my father was intriguing for its

inaccuracies.

1. My grandfather, Charles Rogers Thomas, was executive director of

the Hereford Assn. in Missouri. He owned little property and few if any

cattle. He came to California a man of modest means.

2. While dad was acting assistant secretary of the Navy during World

War II, he renewed his friendship with Bess Truman, with whom he had grow

up, and became good friends with Harry.

3. The family had moved to California well before World War II.

4. My mother’s name was Julia. She hated “Julie.”

5. My grandfather, Henderson Hayward, did well financially. His only

downtown property was the Hayward Hotel.

6. The comment, “Mr. Ring, you don’t know me well enough to call me by

my first name,” indicates Judge Gardner’s lack of understanding of the

kidding that went on between Dad and Hadd Ring.

7. My father was an excellent golfer. He used to enjoy playing the

L.A. Country Club with a one wood, a five iron, and a putter, which he

carried “in his arms.”

The “No damn doctor is going to tell me not to have two martinis

before dinner” story is vintage Dad. An earlier story: Dad had serious

eczema as a young man. He went to a specialist to find out what could be

done. The specialist asked him, “Do you drink?” Dad said, “No, certainly

not in my condition.” The specialist said, “Well, go home and take a

couple of drinks before dinner every night, it’ll calm your nerves” --

advice that Dad followed for the rest of his life.

My regards to the good judge. He has brought back pleasant thoughts.

For a contemporary of dad’s, his memory isn’t really doing that poorly.

HAYWARD THOMAS

Palos Verdes Estates

Reader appreciates public education

As a parent and teacher, I certainly support the right of each parent

to make educational choices for his or her children. I was a little

surprised and upset by the comments made by Peter Beck about Newport

Elementary School and his son’s second-grade class (“A school for

home-schoolers,” May 29).

I too had a son in that class. We were lucky enough to be taking

advantage of the first year with a class size of 20. We also were

fortunate to have one of the finest teachers I have ever seen. She has

served as a mentor teacher in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

for many years. The parents I have spoken to respect her as a creative,

caring, but demanding teacher.

I hope most parents with children in second grade that year saw the

“read to a vegetable” assignment as I did, a humorous alternative to

reading to an adult. I chuckled when I saw the assignment, and considered

having some fun with it by dressing up as a carrot.

I also saw it as an opportunity to take my son to the grocery store

and explore some of the more obscure vegetables. I did not even for a

moment entertain the notion that it might genetically alter my son’s cell

structure. I guess maybe I didn’t take the assignment seriously enough.

Fortunately the teachers and principal at Newport Elementary have

taken my son’s education seriously, and I thank them.

PAM GARRETT

Newport Beach

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