Freudian leak? Here it is--an Only in...

Freudian leak? Here it is--an Only in L.A. exclusive--the first clue that Mayor Bradley will seek a sixth term in 1993.

His staff-written itinerary for today says His Honor will pay a 2:45 p.m. visit to a company named “Outdoor Recreation Group, where 300 employees create backpacks and campaign gear. . . .”

Who says operators don’t chat with callers any more? A Times reporter in Los Angeles dialed directory assistance and asked for the number of the campaign office of Democratic hopeful Jerry Brown--only to receive a mini-lecture.

“What do you want that number for?” asked an operator with a Southern drawl. “Oh, I don’t like him.”

Asked who she did like, she responded that she was backing Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton.

She continued: “Brown isn’t fit to live in the White House. . . . I don’t like the way he went after Clinton’s wife that way. Why do you want his number anyway?”

Problems of the rich and lazy: In a story in Alaska Airlines magazine, the general manager of the posh Hotel Bel-Air was asked why residents of million-dollar estates in the neighborhood occasionally check into the hotel. “Sometimes, they just don’t want to deal with the mess in their houses,” he explained.

Of course. Isn’t that how most people get the messes in their houses cleaned up?

Financial disclosure: “Driver Carries No Cash,” says the top line of a license plate frame seen in South Pasadena. The bottom line says, “He’s married,” which really is the bottom line.

Dialing U2: John Melson of Torrance tried to make a phone call the other night and couldn’t get a dial tone for 15 minutes. After repeatedly punching the O button, he reached an operator.

“She said it was because of all the people phoning to get tickets for the U2 concert,” Nelson said. “It’s like what happens when there’s an earthquake--if you get too many people picking up the phone, the computer starts to shut down.”

At least the operator didn’t blame Jerry Brown.

If it’s Tuesday it must be Wednesday: Willard Harriss of Woodland Hills received a bill from Southern California Gas Co. that, he was surprised to see, listed his energy usage for 32 days in February, 35 days in January and 30 days in December.

No wonder Ursula Schwadron of West L.A. wasn’t impressed with the ad she received from a home security system. It offered bargain start-up rates only through Feb. 31.

While we’re at it, could December be longer than 30 days? Much longer? Lois McKinney made a purchase at a store in Whittier a couple of days ago and noticed that the sales slip wished her “Season’s Greetings.”

miscelLAny:

The authors of “The City Observed: Los Angeles,” trace the nickname of West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center to a 1975 review by architecture critic John Pastier, who compared the building to “an attempt at hiding a whale in a back yard swimming pool.” It’s been the Blue Whale ever since.