Wrong-call box: Steve Hillbourne of Playa del...
Wrong-call box: Steve Hillbourne of Playa del Rey ran out of gas on the Marina Freeway, fortunately near a call box. He picked up the receiver and waited because the machine has no dialing mechanism. He heard a ringing sound and the following message:
“The area code for the number you dialed has been changed to 213. Please dial 1 plus 213 and the number you wish. This is a recording.”
Hillbourne decided to let his legs do the walking. A good Samaritan picked him up along the freeway and found a gas station in the 310 area code.
List of the day: Long Beach, as you may have read, is considering the conversion of the Queen Mary into a gambling ship. So, let’s relive some of the fun adventures of the floating casinos stationed off the coast of Southern California in the 1930s, as recounted in Bruce Henstell’s “Sunshine and Wealth.”
1. Monfalcone: Sunk in 1930 after “a mysterious fire” from which 350 patrons were rescued. Divers later found the ship’s safe, minus $50,000.
2. Johanna Smith: Suffered “a similar fire” in 1932.
3. Monte Carlo: Held up in 1935 by six men armed with automatic weapons, who “chained up the crew and robbed the passengers of $35,000 in cash.”
4. City of Panama (later the City of Hollywood): Scene of an “impromptu show” by “a frisky patron” that, “while amusing, drew customers from the (gambling) tables” and attracted the attention of bouncers. The patron was found beaten to death.
5. Rex: Raided by state Fish and Game officers after it was declared a public nuisance in 1939. Owner Tony Cornero held off the authorities for a while with a fire hose before surrendering. The Rex was later pressed into wartime duty and cashed ‘em in for good when it was sunk by a German sub.
Snack thief: A San Gabriel Valley newspaper reported the theft of “a purse valued at $200” that, according to police, “contained only fruit.”
Doctoring Seuss: We recently published the work of an anonymous Sacramento Democrat who imagined Gov. Pete Wilson as a Dr. Seuss character, intoning: I will not sign a budget soon /I will not sign a bill in June / I will not sign a budget no w / I may not sign one anyhow.
Only in L.A. asked for a Republican reply and, now, courtesy of state Sen. Newton Russell (R-Glendale), we have: “Democrat Fiscal Policy Explained by Dr. Seuss.” Some excerpts:
I have not seen a tax I do not like / I have not seen a tax I would not hike / I have not seen a tax that did no good / I would tax everything if I could ...
I know I have a heart of gold / I know my heart is warm, not cold / I know I want to spend all that’s yours / And his and hers and theirs and ours....
We have to go now. Suddenly, we’re feeling drowsy.
miscelLAny:
Strata Flotations of Torrance is the co-developer of a covered water bed that features gull-wing doors and a mounted camera to monitor the surroundings from the inside (see photo). The wheeled, motor-driven vessel can also move from room to room at a top speed of 3 m.p.h. Price: $150,000 (plus plates and dealer prep, we assume).