We had to change our minds within three or four weeks. Without the staff pastor assigned here, leading small groups and praying with people, it got a little thin.

We all used to go down to watch Chuck Thome hit the ball. Then, around 1940, his son Art turned into quite a hitter at Manual [High School] in the days when my brother Jim used to play against him for Central. And not far behind him was Chuck Jr.

Tommy Les was one of the most determined basketball players I've ever been around. He was sort of like a basketball version of Pete Rose, only I think Pete Rose had a better jump shot. But Tom was the sort of player that you were going to have to carry off the court before you were going to beat him.

And when he is telling a serious story, you can hear a pin drop. It's is the same thing as going to a movie theater. You go to a movie theater and everyone laughs at the jokes and people cry at the right time.

It's a flat environment?there's no balcony, no slant or slope to the seating?and there are big screens up front.

The first thing that happened leading up to such a large spill was that at about 6 or 7 in the morning the telephone alarm system crashed and we don't know why. It's operated by the phone company and we are working with them to understand why that happened. The telephone alarm system monitors about 20-plus self-operating pump stations west of the Long Beach Freeway.