WAR STORIES: The crowds filling the Richard...

WAR STORIES: The crowds filling the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda after Pat Nixon’s funeral paid special attention to the room honoring her. But a poignant reminder of how close the Nixons were is a faded, handwritten letter in a display case in the main foyer. . . . A young Nixon wrote his new bride from the South Pacific during World War II: “The only thing that matters is that I love you more and more each day. . . . Your letters are my only happiness now.” Today is the final free-admission day at the library.

AIR JUSTICE: The justices of the Court of Appeal in Santa Ana can get tired of seeing the same lawyers dredge up the same issues. From an opinion last week issued by Presiding Justice David Sills: “We can safely say, without fear of contradiction, that the attorneys in this case know their way to the Court of Appeal. . . . If we could issue frequent-flying miles, these parties would qualify for a free trip somewhere.”

GETTING HER KICKS: A few years ago, Robin Umphrey of Irvine got into karate because she wanted to prepare for a career as a police officer. Instead, karate led to tae kwon do. “I found out I really loved the competition,” says Umphrey, now a security guard. . . . She has held her own pretty well too. Three-time state women’s tae kwon do champ, she has now been named to the U.S. team that will compete in the world championship at New York’s Madison Square Garden in August.

YOU GOTTA LOVE IT: If you are surprised that Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts got hitched (F1), so are his fans at the Crazy Horse in Santa Ana, who heard him not long ago sing “She’s No Lady.” It is a Lyle-looks-at-matrimony song, with lines like: “She said, ‘I do’ / The preacher asked me, and she said, ‘He does too’ / The preacher said, ‘I pronounce you 99 to life / Son, she’s no lady, she’s your wife.’ ” But Lovett has apparently changed his tune, after meeting a pretty woman.