I would like to comment on something that appeared in Issue 78 . I've been full-time military for eight years and in my experience, I've always seen the phonetic spelling of the letter A as alpha , as opposed to alfa . He tells me that the word dude came from a contamination of the title of the British dukes who came to Wyoming in the late 1800s and started the big ranches there. Usually with European capital. There's simply no evidence to support that assertion.
Most etymologists agree that dude arose in New York City.
If they were located in San Francisco, they would be the San Francisco Tar Pits. The answer is, most likely, lost. In addition, they'd have to move the bridge, and I don't know where L.A. would put it. This past week, NASA held an auction of its space memorabilia, and I couldn't help but wonder if that dime was auctioned as well. Thank you again for your column, and now I'm off to the dentist to have my chipped teeth fixed.