Perfume

It seems that everyone has an opinion about Indian food. My cousin Ron said it is all spicy stuff. Some friends replied that it is just meat on skewers. Even Mom stressed that everything has heartburn-causing curry. I set out to India?s Tandoori in Burbank to prove them wrong and maybe a little right. Diversity dominates Indian cuisine, but spices and heavily infused flavors (not necessarily flaming hot) are universal. Curry has become a catch-all term that refers to any number of Indian dishes that employ spices and heavy gravy.

As the election to fill three Burbank Unified school board seats comes to an end, one issue has been completely left blowing in the wind: the tenure system, or the obtaining of permanent status as a teacher. A generally avoided, divisive topic, the idea of tenure in our public school system is something we all need to be willing to talk about. A quick rundown of the system in California: A permanent status-holding, or tenured, public school teacher is “protected” from termination, excluding “obvious” cases of incompetence and/or misconduct.

The smell of Elmer’s Glue takes me back to Mrs. Stark’s third-grade class at Glenoaks Elementary. The scent of pine needles takes me to June Lake and boyhood fishing trips with my father. A whiff of Jack Daniel’s transports me to a regretful morning after a bachelor party in 1993. And riding my bike past Burroughs High School in Burbank one recent morning, the smell of grass clippings in the moist air sent me to preseason football practice at Glendale High School 300 years ago. I’ve always been one of the bigger kids in class.

Lots of stuff is sold these days in the name of religion — everything from perfume to golf balls in a multi-billion-dollar retail market. Most of it reportedly is sold by believers to believers. But the effect, according to some, is to prompt some believers to withdraw from reality instead of engaging it, as Christ wanted. Do you have concerns about such commercialization of religion? Is there a point where such marketing becomes counterproductive?   I suspect that much of this market is created by well-intentioned souls.

Dear Santa, First, I wanted to thank you for traveling around the universe to all the kids, giving them a gift with wishes and a warm heart. Every day, new kids are born, and we should think about about them, too. I hope you are not tired -- after all -- because I have one more wish for myself. Can you please get me a PlayStation game called Crash Team Racing or Crash Bash? Fady Ellaham, 8, Washington Are you a real person? Do you play ice hockey?

In his 43 years as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Harold Maxham has traversed more than 500,000 miles across Burbank, delivering mail to such institutions as the Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros., Lockheed and City Hall. He?s seen both the city and industry change through the dawn and dominance of the Internet, proliferation of junk mail and increased traffic on city streets. Maxham, who retired this month, was recognized July 21 by the City Council for his more than four decades of service ?