This Defector Is Moving On Up

--To Stefan Vernea, 38, America is indeed the land of plenty. The Romanian merchant sailor jumped ship last week, and, within 48 hours, he was granted political asylum by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Now, Vernea finds himself wearing a safety helmet and steel-toed shoes in his new job as a mechanic in Jacksonville, Fla. Ron Bradley, manager of Commercial Metals Inc., said: “Initially, he’ll be working on a preventive maintenance program, everything from cranes, front-end loaders, presses.” The Lutheran Church Social Services found him the job and a place to live. With rows of television cameras and reporters recording Vernea’s first day on the job, Bradley cautioned that the expatriate “is somewhat camera shy right now. He’s not making public comments because he’s concerned about his family.” Vernea has applied for permission to have his wife, Maria, join him from Romania.

--Isaac Asimov, your place is secure among the greats of science fiction writers. But there just might be a rising star on the horizon in the name of, no kidding, William F. Buckley Jr., columnist, novelist, television personality. The truth is that Buckley has turned out a children’s book, “The Temptation of Wilfred Malachey,” the story of a teen-ager who talks with God through his computer. Will Blackford Oakes, Buckley’s hero in his spy novels, next find new adventures on the menacing planet of Venus? Probably not, but then again, why not? Anyway, Buckley told People magazine that he wrote his children’s book in two hours. The question remains: How could he avoid those polysyllabics for which he’s so famous? “You can adopt a discipline, which, however castrating it would be in other circumstances, you would not find so under these circumstances,” he said. Now, that’s vintage Buckley.

--The “worldwide competition” of parking summons recipients is off and running. “It doesn’t matter what country you got them in--a ticket is a ticket,” said Glen Bolofsky, the contest’s sponsor, who also publishes the New York City Alternate Side of the Street Parking Calendar. The grand prize is worth $100, and contestants must submit the dollar amount of the parking tickets, along with proof of payment, by Dec. 1. Bolofsky said he decided to run the contest “because I received a lot of parking tickets--so many that I have to laugh, otherwise I’ll cry.” How many tickets would give a contestant a good shot at the prize? “For an average, let’s talk about 100--that’s a lot of tickets,” Bolofsky said.