Ever notice how it’s getting so you...
Ever notice how it’s getting so you have to break open your piggy bank anytime you need to satisfy a hungry parking meter? Who has not cringed at the meter that is labeled: “Quarters Only”?
Santa Monica may have a solution. Residents will soon be able to purchase their own miniature parking meters. Remember--this is the People’s Republic of Santa Monica.
The city plans to experiment with a system that would enable motorists to buy a disposable electronic device from City Hall that can be programmed to give credit for up to $50 worth of parking. The gadget can be hung from the rearview mirror.
The minutes and hours of credit count down on the calculator’s screen, which can be checked by a meter maid (or mister).
“It has buttons that you press to set it for the different rates of parking--for instance, if you’re in a 50 cents (per hour) area,” said Jamal Rahimi, a senior traffic engineer.
Or you can just take a bus.
List of the Day:
Some eateries offer unusual items in their booths, including:
1--TV sets at Hamburger Henry’s, Long Beach. No charge for the 6-by-5-inch sets. (Yes, they get cable.) Owner Henry Meyer used to provide telephones for contacting the kitchen, too.
2--Jukeboxes at Johnny’s, Culver City. The 1950s-era pastrami shop has them set at 1950s prices (three songs for a quarter).
3--Toasters at Ship’s, in both Culver City and mid-town L.A. “It was the only way we could figure to make sure people got hot toast--let them do it themselves,” says owner Emmett Shipman. “No one else has them (individual toasters) because the initial cost of installing a separate electrical line for each one is tremendous.”
4--Crayons and paper at Portfolio Gallery, Long Beach. Dessert and beverages are served at the new artists’ studio but a full-scale kitchen is planned. The gallery will put the best of its customers’ crayon drawings up for sale along with the paintings it exhibits.
5--Telephones at Larry Parker’s Diner, Beverly Hills. Credit-card calls only, though.
6--Books at Marie Callender’s, Monterey Park and other locations. Unfortunately, your reading is limited to the covers. They’re nailed to the wall.
Josh Baran saw this notice posted in Venice, naturally:
“Lost: 9-inch red-leg tarantula. Answers to the name ‘Ralph.’ The children have become very attached to ‘Ralph’ and are inconsolable.”
Better that the children are attached to Ralph than the other way around.
miscelLAny:
Used dozens of times a day, sometimes stuffed with strange items, the average toaster at a Ship’s restaurant has a life span of . . . six weeks.
