Lots of responses to the closing of Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets NW to provide more security for the president from truck bombs: Dear Dr. Gridlock:

How about moving the president to the vice president's home at the Naval Observatory instead of Camp David, as you suggested? Or there is the residence of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff at Fort Myer. Either of these facilities would be easier to secure than the White House, which is vulnerable to kooks, airplanes and rifles.

Relocating the president out of the White House would keep Pennsylvania Avenue open and could result in East and West Executive avenues being reopened as well -- an enormous help to rush-hour traffic.

Some say that relocating the president is tantamount to conceding defeat to terrorists. Well, closing Pennsylvania Avenue IS surrender. Furthermore, it is arrogant to inconvenience thousands for the sake of one individual, even the president. WYMAN L. WILLIAMS Manassas

Hidden Advantages Dear Dr. Gridlock:

If there is serious thought to relocating the president, the veep's residence is the place. It is on a hill, high above the street (and above the effects of a truck bomb), has spacious open grounds, limited access from streets and can barely be seen because of the trees at the edge of the property. DAVID G. BOAK Vineyard Haven, Mass.

Just Another Obstacle Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I'm opposed to moving the president to Camp David or any other place. . . . The president belongs in the White House.

As for closing Pennsylvania Avenue, getting rid of the cabs, delivery trucks, RV's and sightseeing buses and turning it into a plaza is a plus.

As for massive traffic jams, phooey. Washington is used to that. What's one more roadblock in a town that's full of obstacles? WILLIAM A. HARPER Selbyville, Del.

On the Bright Side Dear Dr. Gridlock:

While I think the government is a bit paranoid in wanting to close Pennsylvania Avenue, anything that will discourage suburbanites from driving downtown can't be all bad.

A look at tags of vehicles that used to pass in front of the White House showed that most were from Maryland and Virginia. What do these drivers think Metro is for? TOM HOFFMAN Rockville

A Sad State Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Now, no handicapped people or visitors with little time to spare can be driven in front of the White House. You can't see the front portico from moving vehicles anymore. How sad.

This major move occurs to the detriment of surrounding businesses, to whom the public has less access, and was done without any public hearings or consultation with the city government. How sad.

What's the next step in putting the president in a cocoon -- closing 15th and 17th streets? HAROLD GRAY Washington

Allow Cars Only Dear Dr. Gridlock:

It appears there is a simpler solution to security at the White House than the draconian measures now in place.

Instead of restricting ALL traffic in front of the White House, why not restrict only trucks and vans -- the vehicles most likely to carry bombs? Passenger cars could still be allowed to use the street. EUGENE C. WEINBACH Silver Spring

Allow Buses Only Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Why not make the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House for buses only? Surely there could be no danger from buses, and the people who ride them would still be able to enjoy the thrilling sight of our nation's Executive Mansion. MARY A. HITCHCOCK Washington

Lower the Avenue Dear Dr. Gridlock:

While your "Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue" has come to pass, it is not too late to remedy the situation in a manner that would satisfy both the driving public and those charged with protecting the president.

How about simply lowering Pennsylvania Avenue about 20 feet in front of the White House?

Traffic would once again flow unimpeded (rubberneckers showing Aunt Ginny the presidential home would no longer slow those going from Point A to Point B), while the threat from terrorist bombers would be eliminated because the upward force of any blast would not affect the White House. JAMES M. VAIL Haymarket

An Inside Opinion Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Closing a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue for the safety of the White House and its inhabitants is the result of the bureaucratic mind being driven by panic.

Bureaucrats take the simplest route regardless of human, historic, financial or other reasons. I know because I was a bureaucrat, in both foreign and domestic service for 35 years. The Secret Service will have the president in a hermetically-sealed cage if they have their way.

Every step that allows the Secret Service to do its job more easily has the unfortunate effect of moving the presidency further away from the people. EDWARD P. DILLON Kensington

Thanks for your ideas. The federal government would have benefited from listening to the public before taking this radical step. Two of your thoughts particularly strike home:

1. The suggestion the bureaucrats have run wild. I believe that the Secret Service was determined to provide more protection for the president regardless and that little thought was given to the effect on commuters, commerce and tourists, or the unforeseen costs (well over $1 million in losses to the city, mostly from lost parking revenue).

2. I like your suggestions to relocate the president to the vice president's house instead of to Camp David. Much easier to protect than the White House, and the president would still be in town.

Eventually, I suspect, they're going to have to move the president out of the White House. He's just too exposed there. Ironically, with all the measures taken to increase security, the White House seems more of a target than ever, with one troubled person after another jumping the fence.

Hail? You be the Judge

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote expressing doubt about the existence of SOFTBALL-size hail, which was reported to have fallen on cars, buildings and people in Dallas and Fort Worth in early May. That was reported by our television weather anchors here.

Over the years, we've heard our anchors refer to golfball-size hail and baseball-size hail, neither of which I've ever seen, and now SOFTBALL-size hail? That was just too much. If such a thing existed, wouldn't it kill anyone it fell on? Wouldn't it cause traffic accidents?

Television showed no pictures of softball-size hail. I asked for your experiences and photos. Many people wrote but sent no pictures. Most people described baseball-size hail or shared second-hand stories or reminisces of huge hail from early childhood.

Here's one person who claims to have seen it:

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

We saw softball-size hail in May 1978 when we were visiting my sister at her farm in north-central Kansas. The warning came on TV. The big black cloud was coming fast from the southwest.

The size of the hail was no exaggeration. Big as softballs. They exploded like firecrackers when they hit the sidewalk.

We stayed in the interior of the house because we were afraid the windows would break.

One family nearby was caught on the open road, and all their window glass was broken.

The insurance company paid my sister for a 90 percent loss of her wheat crop and for repairs to her roof.

Pictures? We had cameras handy, but the hail melted by the time we thought of it. RUTH ZMUDZINSKI Frederick

In a further search for pictures and confirmation softball-size hail exits, I checked with the newsrooms of The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"It was softball-size hail. It was real," said Lois Reed, deputy metropolitan editor at the Morning News. "Some insurance people call this the Hail Capital of the World,' but even for here, this size hail was rare. It demolished windshields, windows and skylights. Cars looked like someone had pounded on them with a baseball bat."

Reed said she was at a baseball game when the hail fell, and people had to run off the field and scramble for shelter. "You could tell it was as big as a softball; it was huge," she said. Reed said that several people were bruised by the hail but that she did not believe it would kill a person. The reported deaths were from collapsing buildings, flooding and lightning.

Alison Dale, a photo editor with the Star-Telegram, said some people froze the softball-size hail. But neither newspaper's photo staff got a picture of any, according to Reed and Dale. Hmmm.

Is this like a snipe? Or a UFO? At least there are pictures of purported UFOs.

I guess I'll absorb the eyewitness reports of my Texas news colleagues and of the Frederick reader and go back into my cave on this subject. Until someone on television starts talking about volleyball-size hail.