Fossil story lends insight into promise of discovery Re the March Downtown News piece on the mammoth and whale finds [“An elephant, a fish and the monster that ate ’em,” page 1]: I wanted to commend you on Martin Jones Westlin’s article. It is refreshing to read a popular article that is not only accurate but also offers insight into the intellectual promise of new fossil discoveries. For me, the “monster” in your article is the real story revealed by the TJSL fossils. Thanks for your thoughtful and well-written article. Thomas A. Deméré, Ph.D. Curator, Department of ­Paleontology Director, Department of Paleo Services San Diego Natural History Museum Forget the seals; save the babes, and bring ’em on! Whenever I speak with the zealous supporters of the Children’s Pool seals, I give them several very good, practical reasons why I don’t think 200 seals should be squatting in downtown La Jolla. I always ask them for their counterargument, and so far all I’ve gotten is: “I like to look at the seals.” OK. You know what? I’d “like to look at” 200 Playboy Playmates out there, prancing about, buck-naked, playfully frolicking in the surf and sunning their beautiful, wild selves on the sand. This is untamed, raw nature that kids in a city (or the country, for that matter) don’t often get to observe up close. And they might even attract more tourists! A couple hundred naked babes at Children’s Pool, in the middle of La Jolla Village, just wouldn’t be appropriate, would it? But then again, they wouldn’t be nearly as inappropriate as those fetid seals. Consider the following: 1. Playmates would presumably avail themselves of modern sanitation facilities, thus Children’s Pool Beach would no longer stink. 2. Playmates would respect the marine preserve, and even if they didn’t, the lot of them could never eat as many fish in a month as a seal eats in a single day. 3. Playmates, while they are very attractive, are not so to sharks. Despite what you may have read or heard, the fatal 2008 attack in Solana Beach was the first and only shark attack on a human in San Diego waters, ever. If the seals remain, expect further attacks. 4. Ellen Scripps really did a lot for us La Jollans, but, like Flounder in “Animal House,” she screwed up — she trusted us. And now the council and Kehoe and all the rest of our reprobate “leaders” are doing everything they can to undermine that trust. Why would anybody ever give anything to the city of San Diego again? The presence of naked Playmates, however, would not violate the trust. 5. Presumably, it would still provide James Hudnall and others of his ilk something they “like to look at” without ruining our beautiful town. So, come on, everybody! Save the babes! Joe Guiney La Jolla