Next up, buckaroos--the car-roping competition!Even for downtown...

Next up, buckaroos--the car-roping competition!Even for downtown L.A., it was an unusual spectacle. An empty car was coasting down Spring Street at midday with a man hanging from the outside of the driver’s door. He was attempting to steer with one hand while holding a rope that was fastened to the inside of the car. Alas, his mount quickly bucked into a light pole, throwing him to the ground.

What was he doing? Trying to tame the car? (It wasn’t a Mustang.) Or just thrill-riding? Witnesses said he had no explanation.

He was arrested on suspicion of driving (if you can call it that) under the influence of drugs.

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Odor in the court! Odor in the court!We wish that had been our line to describe the broken sewage pipe that backed up toilets in the downtown Criminal Courts Building, prompting its closing. But we stole it from Mike Fleeman of the Associated Press.

KABC-TV news later attempted to use the same phrase on its 11 p.m. newscast. The on-the-air graphic, however, would have made an English teacher hold his or her nose. Odor was spelled oder .

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Contempt of restroom: The Criminal Courts stoppage reminded us of a different catastrophe in 1988--the day that municipal courthouses in Torrance and Encino ran out of toilet paper. The shortage, which set off frantic searches through building closets, was caused by a contract dispute between the county and its supplier. There were even charges that the supplier had removed the remaining rolls from the South Bay Municipal Court the night before.

“We were hearing from some angry judges for a while,” a county spokesman said in a classic bit of understatement. A resolution was reached the next day, ending the real-life paper chase.

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We can’t seem to get our mind out of the sewer today: Judy Hoffman of Westlake Village found the accompanying item in a local newspaper, which had listed the agenda for a meeting of the Thousand Oaks City Council. Surprisingly, it caused no stoppage.

Time to take the pork ribs in for a grease job?Mike Owen of Hermosa Beach found just the place to service your dinner (see photo).

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Truth in bureaucratizing: L.A.’s city Personnel Department is holding a contest among employees to come up with a snappy phrase to replace the department’s old slogan, “We Have a Job for You!”

One reason for the change: Personnel doesn’t have a job for you because of the hiring freeze at City Hall.

miscelLAny:

Jerry Biederman, author of “Secrets of a Small Town: The Extraordinary Confessions of Ordinary People,” is compiling the hush-hush tales of L.A. County residents for his next opus. Those who want to tell all, anonymously or otherwise, can write him at Century City P.O. Box 67-B-56, Los Angeles 90067.