The individual whom we described as the...

The individual whom we described as the “definition of an optimist” the other day has come forth and identified himself. You may recall that he was dressed in shorts and holding a tennis racquet as he jogged through a drizzle downtown. (We decided not to approach him at the time.)

“I was using a small break in the weather to combine a run with picking up some racquets being strung” at a nearby shop, writes Chris Robb.

He adds that people in his line of work had a lot of time on their hands during the storms. Robb is employed at the Ketchum Downtown YMCA--as the tennis pro.

Robb’s letter was uplifting because our Unsolved Mysteries file is otherwise bulging.

For instance:

Scott Dewees sent us a photo of a Pomona Freeway billboard that asked: “Dear Pat, Please come back . . . and MARRY ME! Love Deane.” Did Pat come back? We don’t know.

Clifford Merry writes to ask if someone out there is familiar with the story behind a metal marker on a ridge near Mt. Hollywood that said: “Mount Iris. Dedicated to the Spirit of a Rainbow Goddess. June 2, 1974. By B. Fier and M. Kay.” The marker has since been torn out.

Does the street-corner plaque on Broadway (see photo), by an abandoned building, honor a former shoeshine operator?

And, finally, what’s the meaning of the stenciled sidewalk graffiti that says, “Thomas vs. Honda,” all over downtown? Our research seems to have ruled out boxing matches, divorces or vehicular lawsuits as subject matter. And the graffiti preceded the controversy over the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

List of the Day:

Perhaps you’re old enough to remember when rock ‘n’ roll basically fell into two categories, oldies and newies. If so, you may have a tough time differentiating among the formats of these radio stations:

* KQLZ-FM: “Album-oriented

rock”

* KLSX-FM: “Classic rock”

* KLOS-FM: “Rock and roll”

* KROQ-FM: “Alternative and progressive rock”

* KTWV-FM: “Soft rock and new wave jazz”

* KEZY-AM: “Top 40 hits from the ‘80s and ‘90s”

* KIIS-FM: “Top 40 contemporary hits”

* KXEZ-FM: “Soft contemporary”

* KOST-FM: “Adult contemporary”

* KJOI-FM: “Easy-listening”

Easy confusing.

Several readers phoned the other day to point out the irony of The Times forgetting to publish the telephone numbers in an ad for a company that treats memory loss. In case you’re interested, the numbers for Pharmacology Research Institute are (310) 595-0601 and (818) 349-4311. We’ve now memorized them here at the newspaper.

There’s a Dennis the Menace Park in Downey, established several years ago when the kid’s TV sitcom was at the height of its popularity. Imagine, glorifying a brat that way. Reader Tom Bratter likes to think that a recreation area in nearby Compton is a tribute to Dennis’ long-suffering neighbor: Wilson Park.

miscelLAny:

A survey by the L.A. Book of Lists found that the City of Angels is the home of 250,000 surfers, 35 square-dance callers and nine skywriters.