Letters

Thanks so much for the Max Gerber photo essay [“Broken
Hearts Club,” August 17–23]. Last summer was my first experience as a counselor
at Camp del Corazón. What amazing teachers the campers are: Little bodies who
have been through so much know intimately that it’s not about the package we
come in, but the content. My first afternoon on Catalina in the cabin with 7-to-9-year-old
girls is most illustrative of what camp was about: normalizing, belonging, not
having to pretend. K., an effervescent 8-year-old, chirped from her top bunk,
“I know. Let’s all show our scars! I’ll go first. See, it’s a ‘T’! And here’s
my pacemaker down here.” Each girl in turn showed her battle scars, and they
all wanted to know which ones we — three adults and one junior counselor — liked
best.

Like kids with cancer, kids with heart problems are first kids, with
all the normal childhood dreams and desires. What Camp del Corazón offers the
campers is a place to let down the guard, bond, feel “normal” and have an unforgettable
summer-camp experience. What it offers the staff is a “functional family” for
a week that melts your heart, immediate bonding with some amazing, wise beings,
good “camp food” and the biggest group hug you can imagine!

Again, thanks for printing such an important article. Thanks, Max.

—Melinda Maxwell-Smith
Studio City

DEAR EDITOR:

As the mom of a post–Fontan repair of 11 years, I enjoyed the stories and
pictures, and have printed the stories for my son to read and relate to.

—Judith Nichols, mom to Bo
Palm City, Florida

DEAR EDITOR:

I just wanted to say thank you for printing such a wonderful article. It made
me smile and cry all at the same time. My daughter is a heart patient and has
the same scar seen in so many of Max Gerber’s pictures. I am sure this article
meant so much to so many. So once again, thank you, for my daughter, a member
of the Broken Hearts Club.

—Crystal Emerson
Jacksonville, Florida

FACE-LICKING

DEAR EDITOR:

Marc B. Haefele is right to laud Marcia Mayeda, the new director of L.A. County
Animal Care and Control
[“Nature Matters,” August 24–30]. She is a ray of hope for

the rescue community. Her commitment to investigate the case of felony animal
cruelty in Compton Creek is refreshing. Cruelty to animals is, in so many cases,
a precursor to violence against humans. That’s why the entire community should
be concerned about cases like Compton Creek, and be glad that Ms. Mayeda is
ordering the department to take it seriously.

—Shelly Gomez
Noah’s B’ark Pet Rescue
Manhattan Beach

DEAR EDITOR:

I agree with Marc Haefele’s enthusiastic assessment of the new head of L.A.
County Animal Care and Control. I met with Ms. Mayeda and found her to be a
professional with a deep commitment to the welfare of animals. Most important,
I found her to be a leader willing to work with the communities her department
serves to identify innovative strategies and solutions to provide the higher
levels of service that many communities are now demanding. It’s refreshing to
see the head of a large bureaucracy so open to finding creative, “out of the
box” solutions in order to improve public service. I wish her well.

—Jeffrey Prang
Member, West Hollywood

City Council

DEAR EDITOR:

I want to thank you for your continued support of bringing animal-cruelty
cases to the public’s attention. As a Torrance resident, I always like to hear
positive information about L.A. County Animal Care and Control. Torrance is
still trying to get our own animal-control officers so we can help the animals
in our city. Hopefully, in the process, this will help other animals as well,
since it will lighten the burden on L.A. County.

—Penny Sotiri
Torrance

BEACH GO BOOM?

DEAR EDITOR:

Re: J. William Gibson’s “Buying
Time at Playa Vista” [August 17– 23]. While I see Playa Vista’s offer to
sell 193 acres of wetland in a generally positive light, I must admit that I
am concerned that the developers are more intent on shoring up their eroding
financial condition than they are on restoring more of our vanishing wetlands.
The 193-acre area that is now being offered for sale by Playa Vista lies above
one of the area’s largest underground natural-gas storage fields and should
never have been considered a suitable site to build a residential or commercial
development. The developer would be better off handing over the title to the
Trust for Public Land in order to limit its potential liability for building
on such an unsuitable and contaminated parcel.

—Bryan Gordon
Mar Vista

DEAR EDITOR:

Please extend my gratitude to Mr. Gibson for his article on the Ballona Wetlands
and the fiscal catastrophe Playa Capital is finally facing. The denial of Mello-Roos
bond funds temporarily put the wind at the back of the demonstrators and activists
who have opposed this waste of our open land. Delve deeper, please. You will
discover that the same financing entities are responsible for the sweetheart
deal that left Belmont stinking like a corpse in the midday sun. To fatten their
portfolios, they are trying to perform the same sleight of hand, this time on
the last remaining wetland/flyway/open space. (Pick one, please.) Now it appears
that may be stopped — thanks, in no small part, to your coverage.

—Stuart M. Chandler
Culver City

STANDOFF AT TAM’S

DEAR EDITOR:

Jim Crogan’s
“Mum’s Not the Word” [August 17–23] doesn’t begin to tell the whole story
of the altercation at Tam’s restaurant in Lynwood — just selective quotes, sensationalism
and allegations that have yet to be substantiated. Crogan doesn’t touch on the
interesting testimony that took place before Judge Fidler, which portrayed the
deputies in a different light; instead, he chose to print isolated comments
that paint a negative picture. There is much more to this story, and the Weekly
does the county Sheriff’s Department and the public a disservice by printing
highly prejudicial, inflammatory articles that bear little resemblance to the
facts.

—M. Woolrich
Hawthorne

KREISEL’S LAST STAND

DEAR EDITOR:

My appreciation goes out to Mr. Falling James, author of “Al’s
Bar: Unplugged” [August 17–23], for his colorful and frighteningly accurate
description of the most unusual, most peculiar drinking establishment that I
have ever personally witnessed. I almost regret that I wasn’t there for the
closing. Al’s was a real bastion of countercultural values, a place where everyone
should have gone at least once. Thanks.

—Joe Simmons
Panorama City

THE SEQUENTIAL-PROCESSING

LIMITATIONS OF THE L.A. WEEKLY FOOD CRITIC

DEAR EDITOR:

“For want of a better word, the tacos here just have the right gestalt” [“Notes
on the Taco Gap,” by Jonathan Gold, August 10–16]. “. . . the deep flavor,
juiciness, sticky-crisp skin — the gestalt — of the best” [“Eat
This, Grandma,” by Michelle Huneven, August 24–30]. According to the online
Lindamood-Bell™ Definitions and Terminology Resource, gestalt
“may also refer to grasping an overall concept without understanding the details
relating to that concept. This pattern is frequently seen in children with learning
disabilities who have sequential-processing limitations.”

—Julian Davies
Los Angeles

CORRECTION

In the capsule review of the Powerhouse Theater’s production
of Locked
Up Down Shorty’s [New
Theater Reviews, August 24–30], the playwright, Mike Petty, was misidentified.
Also, for last week’s Clive Barker cover photo, we neglected to credit stylist
Francie Paull. Apologies all around.