The Write StuffKindergarten teacher Pat Cox had...

The Write Stuff

Kindergarten teacher Pat Cox had big news for her class at Harding Street Elementary School in Sylmar on Tuesday morning.

She told the youngsters she had married her war hero, Army Spec. 4 Richard Allan Francis, in private ceremonies Sunday at the First Methodist Church in Burbank.

The children were particularly interested because they had been in on the romance from its start last September.

That’s when the teacher and her young charges first wrote letters to soldiers in the Gulf. The letters were processed through columnist Ann Landers’ Operation Desert Shield, and the children, like their teacher, received individual answers.

Soon, however, Francis’ letters to Cox were arriving at the rate of one a day at her home, and they were taking a decidedly romantic turn.

“We seemed to have so much in common,” the 24-year-old teacher said of her 25-year-old spouse. So, after a flurry of phone calls, she went from her home in Lake View Terrace to Fort Hood, Tex., on April 6 to welcome her pen pal home.

“He was supposed to be back then, and I wanted to be there to greet him,” she said. As it turned out, he didn’t get back for another couple of weeks, so she visited with his mother, Elizabeth Francis, in Killeen, Tex., before returning home.

When he finally got back to the base, he wasn’t to be given leave for several weeks, but some fast talking got him on a jet to Burbank within a couple of days.

“When he got off the airplane, I knew exactly who he was,” the new Mrs. Francis said. “He was just as handsome as his pictures.”

It was too late for love at first sight, though, because he had already proposed by mail, and she’d made up her mind to accept.

The new bride will finish the school year with her class, then head for Texas and her new life.

Laughing Last

The Encino-based Betsy Ross Division of the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets is celebrating its great showing at a recent competition in San Diego.

The event, which involved 20 units from around Southern California, tested teams for firefighting, first aid and knot-tying, among other skills.

The 16 members of Betsy Ross, all from junior and senior high schools in the San Fernando Valley, meet on Mondays at the Naval Reserve Center for their skills and history instruction, and are invited for day sails on Navy vessels docking on the West Coast. They also are called upon to march in parades and take part in various community events. Last Fourth of July, they presented the colors at the Dodger baseball game.

The national Sea Cadet program offers all participants a scholarship program, whether they join the Navy or not. But if they do, they are upped in grade for their time in the organization.

What is unique about the Betsy Ross group is that all members are female, the only such division on the West Coast, according to adviser John Mertes of Chatsworth, although a lot of groups have both boys and girls.

This came about when, 10 years ago, the Bryce Canyon Sea Cadet group--which met and still meets at the Encino center--decided it wanted to be all male. So the girls formed their own unit.

If the guys thought the girls would slow them down in competition, that idea should be deep-sixed by now.

Betsy Ross came in second among the 20 teams in San Diego, trailing winning Santa Monica by only a few points. Bryce Canyon finished third.

Guess Who’s Talking

The good news was that Cal State Northridge decided to have a separate graduation for each of its schools rather than one large bash.

The bad news was that by the time everyone found out, there was almost no time for each school to find a suitable commencement speaker.

The School of Arts, however, got itself a real star.

For its graduation May 28 at the University Club, it will hear from Los Angeles Festival director Peter Sellars, whose name is often followed by adjectives such as brilliant and visionary.

Arts Dean Philip Handler is rightfully proud of this dramatic coup and cites a chance meeting with Sellars as the impetus.

“I was at a reception where he was announced creative director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic,” Handler said. “We happened to fall into casual conversation and I was struck by what an extremely gracious person he was in spite of all the recent adulation.”

Later, when Handler realized a speaker had to be found, he immediately thought of Sellars and a quick check of students and faculty confirmed his judgment.

Through a friend of a friend, he contacted the stellar Sellars, who announced he was very happy to be asked.

“The only request he made was that we find him a parking place,” Handler said.

Strutting Their Stuff

There was a brunch and fashion show a couple of Sundays ago at the Wedgewood Hotel in Tarzana.

A fashion show is a pretty ho-hum deal these days, but to the senior citizens at this residential hotel it is an annual highlight.

Eight of the 55 residents did the modeling and they really strutted their stuff, according to Greta Rosenberg, who helped organize them.

The hit of the event was 95-year-old Fannie Bedder, who showed off her gown with the aid of a cane, but 89-year-old Ruth Mitler, who took to the runway with her walker, drew raves, as well.

The male residents showed their approval with sustained applause. The event, which included 130 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, began with a champagne brunch. According to Rosenberg, wolf whistles were not uncommon.

Overheard

“I’ve changed banks three times in three weeks. The first went out of business, the second may be taken over by the feds and the third has been accused of laundering drug money. The mattress is beginning to look pretty good.”

--One man talking to another in the weight room at the Warner Center Club