Nudists Put Mailmen to Route

--Mail carriers may not be stayed in the swift completion of their appointed rounds by snow, rain, heat nor gloom of night--but nudists are another matter. Postmaster Henry Thompson of Lutz, Fla., has refused for more than a year to ask his carriers to deliver mail to nearby Paradise Lakes Resort, a 239-unit “clothing optional” condominium community north of Tampa, because they might be offended by seeing the nudists. “My employees are entitled to work under reasonable conditions, and I think that their feelings must be considered,” Thompson said. The last time he was at the resort, “I saw naked people washing their cars and mowing the lawns. I told the manager, ‘We got a problem.’ ” “I’d kind of side with my postmaster,” said carrier Nick Cox, 21. “Just for moral reasons, I’d prefer not to go in there.” Neither side will compromise. Residents of the resort now get dressed and drive to post offices at Land O’ Lakes or Lutz, and 168 cluster mailboxes remain unused on the resort’s mail drive. “This whole thing is crazy,” said Robert Page, general counsel for the American Sunbathing Assn. “If I were a letter carrier, I’d lots rather worry about vicious dogs. If I were a letter carrier, Paradise Lakes would be one of my favorite routes.”

--Live from Nashville--it’s Minnie Pearl and George Bush! Vice President Bush, an avid country music fan, will be introduced on stage Saturday night during the televised part of the weekly Grand Ole Opry. Country music stars Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff will introduce Bush on stage during his Opry visit, which is part of a three-day swing through Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

--Three men were convicted in London of stealing blank checks from Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, and cashing two of them for $76,250. Andrew Shellis, Heraklif Kouzupis and Peter Callaghan, son of the duke’s butler, were convicted of obtaining money by deception. They will be sentenced Monday. The three were described by prosecutors as “a seedy trio who haunted West End nightclubs and casinos and put their heads together to take advantage of the duke, a shortsighted old man with odd habits.” The duke, 65, a former Conservative government minister and a nephew of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, said the checks disappeared from his home while he was away with a mistress. The duke, who is married, told the court that while he frequently gave his mistresses money, it was unlikely that he ever gave blank checks to anyone.