REUNION: He smiled at his former nurses...

REUNION: He smiled at his former nurses and doctors and walked under his own power. Ron Mass returned Thursday to thank the people and the place that saved his life--the Sherman Oaks Hospital Burn Center. Just one year and one day ago, he arrived after escaping the Topanga Canyon fires (B3). . . . “When I walked in the door, it was like I came home,” Mass said.

CHAPTER 11: The Sherman Oaks-based House of Fabrics is seeking protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code (D1). The company, which sells fabrics and home sewing items, will continue to operate 427 stores but will try to cancel leases on others. House of Fabrics, founded in 1946, had flourished until lately, when competition stiffened, said one analyst.

DRAG QUEENS: Long lashes, lavish costumes, and lip-syncing. Guess what? Drag queens, like Scott, a.k.a. “Dolly,” above, are back. In the Valley, the place to be is Studio City’s Queen Mary, a local institution since the early ‘60s. . . . “We love these women--if that’s what they are,” said patron Tony Fortunato. “You don’t know who’s who in here, or what’s what.” See Valley Life! (Page 10.)

IN CAHOOTS: There are plenty of suburban cowboys in Glendale. Cowgirls, too. They congregate at In Cahoots, featured in this week’s Club Scene (Valley Life! Page 31.) . . . Deejay Curtis Nelson keeps the huge dance floor filled with line dancers and two-steppers, but don’t be shocked out of your Stetson to hear occasional non-country artists like AC/DC and KC & The Sunshine Band.

MIGHTY PEN: Cal State Northridge graduate Kathy McWorter made history four years ago when Paramount paid $1 million for her script “The Cheese Stands Alone”--believed to be the most ever paid to a female screenwriter. . . . That movie has yet to be made, but she’s still doing pretty well. She wrote the script for “The War,” opening today (F1).