Marriage License and Poetic License

Romance was in the air Saturday when more than two dozen “brides” were scheduled to converge on a street where dreams are paid for: Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

But even if they planned to wear the traditional white gowns and veils, these would by no means be ordinary, just-come-from-the-chapel brides.

Some would be men. Each was to wear high-top tennis shoes. And all were prepared to recite hundreds of poems by Emily Dickinson.

The faux brides, in a performance entitled “27 Brides Reading 957 Poems,” are members of the Pasadena-based Ruckus Performance Ensemble who were hired by Rodeo Drive merchants to woo and entertain Valentine’s Day shoppers.

The performers planned to stop passersby outside such romance emporiums as Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels and launch into heart-melting poems, gazing intently at shoppers and summoning some of Dickinson’s most evocative prose.

Stuff like: “I started early--took my dog and visited the sea--the mermaids in the basement, came out to look at me.”

*

SAY IT IN CYLINDERS: Still stuck for ideas on a creative gift for your Valentine? Something other than a heart-shaped box of chocolates and roses?

Recycle for Gold may be the answer.

Through this program, car owners can donate unwanted vehicles to the California Special Olympics and an organization known as Best Buddies, in which college students take retarded individuals on social outings. The towing is free and donors receive a tax deduction.

The nonprofit organizations make their money on the resale value of the cars. The number for donations is (800) 590-1600.

OK, it’s not romantic. But it is thoughtful.

*

PUTTING HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS: It’s no secret that many fans of public broadcasting ride the left lane of politics. After all, it has been public broadcast stations like Santa Monica’s KCRW that have explored issues that commercial networks have been less inclined to probe--from the wisdom of the Persian Gulf War to Anita Hill’s accusations against then Supreme Court-nominee Clarence Thomas.

So it was somewhat of a surprise last week when no less a champion of conservatism than Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) took to the airwaves for a love letter of sorts . . . to KCRW.

“This is Congressman Dana Rohrabacher down in Orange County. And I am making out my check for KCRW,” he said during a pledge break Monday that must have had some listeners double-checking the dials on their car radios.

But if they continued listening, they soon realized that there was a method to what might have seemed like Rohrabacher’s momentary madness.

“One of the reasons I am making this check out,” he told listeners, “is because I don’t happen to believe the federal government should be supporting public broadcasting in the United States of America. But that also means the rest of us have to do it.

“So I hope that you will join me in supporting KCRW’s drive so that we can continue some quality programming, like ‘Which Way L.A?,’ which is a fine public affairs program.”

In case you’re wondering, Rohrabacher contributed $100.