A CHRONICLE OF THE PASSING SCENE : The Goose’s Long Goodby

David Grant of Encino was 30 when he co-piloted Howard Hughes’ 1947 first-and-only flight of the Spruce Goose, so he was flooded with memories when he and his wife, Ruth, watched the

disassembled Spruce Goose in late October start its trip on barges up the coast toward its new home in McMinnville, Ore.

The occasion was, in many ways, a sad one for Grant, now 76, who had been a young, hotshot hydraulic engineer when he went to work on the giant airship in 1946.

Still, one memory, in particular, brought a small smile to his face.

“When we were building the airship, Howard would call a meeting every day after the normal working day had ended. All the engineers and designers would leave the Culver City plant and regroup at the house in Benedict Canyon that Howard rented from Cary Grant,” David Grant says.

“Those meetings often lasted until 11 p.m. or midnight, so I got to have very few dinners with my family during those first years at what was then Hughes Aircraft Co.,” Grant says.

On one occasion, Hughes told the group that he was going out of town so there would be no meetings. “Ruth and I scheduled a dinner party, but at the last minute, Howard didn’t go and so he wanted to meet with the usual group.”

Grant left the plant in Culver City and drove to the Benedict Canyon house hoping that the meeting would be short enough to still get home in time for the dinner. When he saw that was not going to happen, he called his wife with the bad news.

“She was telling me in no uncertain terms what she thought of me and then started on my boss, Howard, just as he walked into the room and picked up a phone not realizing it was an extension to the one I was on,” Grant says.

“He listened for a few minutes and he sure got an earful. He got a grin on his face and then hung up. I didn’t know what to expect from him after I hung up, but he went back to the meeting, which went on until almost midnight, as usual.”

For years after that flight of the airship (it was never called the Spruce Goose by anyone who worked on it), Grant says Hughes would schedule other flights for the airship and the group working on it would get excited. But then Hughes would cancel them.

“At first, we thought we were working on a viable project, but it became clear in the late ‘40s that Howard had lost interest,” Grant says.

Grant worked on various projects, including the XH-17 helicopter. He retired from Hughes Aviation in 1981, but did not

see Hughes after the early 1950s.

“I think the people who now have the ship--the Evergreen International Aviation Co.--understand how to care for it. They have promised to build an aeronautical museum where the airship will be the centerpiece,” he says.

Attend Your Class Reunion by Remote

If you can’t make (or wouldn’t be caught dead at) your high school reunion, you can check out those long-lost friends who actually show up--on video.

George Schaffer of By George Video Productions hires out for such events locally to record all the action and will send those not attending a videotape for about $30. (If you deign to attend, you get a $5 discount.)

“I take group and individual pictures of everyone, and ask a lot of questions that people answer on camera,” says Schaffer, of Van Nuys.

One of his favorite questions is, “Who did you have a crush on in the class that you never told?” He then asks the crushee if they knew about this unrequited love.

“The videos are lots of fun, and I add music and commentary,” says Schaffer, of Cal State Northridge’s class of ’82.

He’s been doing these historical productions for about a year, but says a rather small percentage of those attending actually order his product.

One recent customer was Lisa Gottsegen, class of 1972 at Birmingham High School, who brought her husband, Dustin Hoffman, to the 20th reunion of her class at the Sheraton Universal in September.

Not for the Thin-Skinned

For several years, women have been wandering around with exposed underwear. They call the frilly things bustiers, but we know what they are.

Now men can even the score with Unisuits.

They are long johns--you know, all-in-a-piece underwear--that come in nine colors and four designs and cost $12 at Raffles in the Courtyard Shops of Encino.

No back flaps, though.

While these things are not a second skin like Spandex, they are certainly not for someone wanting to hide his assets.

Envision Sly Stallone in a snug Batman outfit. Get the picture?

Ahem. Right.

And with the proper accessories, according to Raffles owner Gary Ross, they could be worn almost anywhere.

Unisuits--which come with long sleeves or a tank top and short legs or long legs--are good for men who work or play outdoors (and want to wear something over them) as well as being terrific by themselves at the gym, Ross says.

“But maybe we could start a whole new male underwear-for-the-street look with boxer shorts worn over the long-legged and long-sleeved Unisuits,” Ross says, laughing.

Then again, maybe not.

Please, Let the Shoe Fit

If parading around in your underwear doesn’t do it for you, but you sure like a bargain, check out the sale between noon and 4 p.m. Sunday at the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop, 9719 Reseda Blvd., Northridge.

A mystery man has donated about 200 pairs of shoes as well as some designer clothes for the sale to benefit the cancer society’s Valley Unit.

The shoes, many never worn, are size 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 and carry labels by Maud Frizon and Ottorinno Bossi with an original value of between $300 to $700, store manager Jill Angel says. They will be sold for about 60% of their original price.

There are also suits, sports coats, pants, custom-made dress shirts and casual shirts that have been donated, many with labels by Giorgio Armani and Battaglia. Suit sizes are 37 to 40 and waist sizes are 29 to 32. Prices vary.

“I suspect that some of the suit buyers will be women because of the small size of the clothing,” Angel says.

Two hundred pair of shoes?

Imelda, where are you?

Do we have a (mystery) guy for you.

Overheard

“I can’t tell you how happy I am the election is over. Maybe my 11-year-old will stop talking about ideologues and policy wonks and go back to his pubescent fantasies.”

--Woman in Woodland Hills on phone to friend