In case you missed it, a Michigan...

In case you missed it, a Michigan man recently advertised in The Times that he and his wife--a “younger couple”--will be “vacationing in the L.A. area Jan 8-10. Would like to meet & dine with famous celebrity to top off our vacation! Send letter to:

“Vacationers, 2915 Oak Valley SW, Apt. 307, Wyoming, MI 49509.”

As a public service, we’re willing to act as a go-between for volunteers.

But, please: Non-famous need not apply.

Now why would a dental building display a toothless bird as a symbol?

Apparently, the new tenants on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica (see photo) just couldn’t bear to remove the sign of the previous occupant--the Penguin Cafe.

A Sherman Oaks resident observed a passerby inspecting a set of Venetian blinds that she had put out with the trash.

“We’re throwing those away,” the resident said. “You can have them if you want.”

“I don’t know,” the passerby said. “I’m not crazy about the color.”

License plate on a car spotted in Long Beach: LB BMW.

It was a Mazda.

Hollywood is well-represented among the historic Christmas cards that will be on exhibit until Jan. 5 at the Richard Nixon Museum and Birthplace in Yorba Linda. The display, consisting of felicitations sent to the Nixon family over the years, includes greetings from Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Autry, Ginger Rogers, Red Skelton and Buddy Ebsen. World leaders who are represented range from President Bush, Prince Charles and Prince Rainier to the late Ferdinand Marcos, the late Shah of Iran and Moammar Kadafi.

Hey Moammar--there’s this couple from Michigan . . .

The recession has brought about a general decline in charitable donations, but Cadillac Santa still made his eighth yearly visit to the Midnight Mission on L.A.’s Skid Row.

More than 1,500 street people were thankful. They were given $5,000 in $10 bills by the anonymous philanthropist.

His visits are never announced in advance, but once he arrives, word of the handout spreads quickly, said Clancy Imislund, managing director of the mission.

“Some people use it to buy beer,” he said. “One guy sends it back home to his mother in Indiana. Some people use it to buy food.”

The 79-year-old donor, who arrived in a white Cadillac, told KNX radio: “But by the grace of God I would be one of them because I was an alcoholic and I know. I’ve been there and I’ve been broke. That’s the worst thing. Dead flat broke. Didn’t have five cents on Christmas day. No shoes, no pants, no nothing. So fortunately, I can share.”

Travel writer Norm Sklarewitz of North Hollywood received a press release from SkyWest Airlines that announced the construction of new corporate headquarters with the aim of “improving internal communication and efficiency.”

The next day, he received another copy of the press release. And another. And another. At last count he’s received 26 of the press releases from thorough, if not efficient, SkyWest.

Christmas, 1991:

The Bragman Nyman Cafarelli P.R. agency in L.A. sent out Christmas cards that contained two condoms, along with the greeting: “Have a safe holiday!”

In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, one condom was green and one was red.

miscelLAny:

Just the Christmas present that L.A. could use this year: On Dec. 24, 1861, rain began falling in the City of Angels and continued, with brief interruptions, for 30 days.