It isn’t in the bag yet:Shopping at...
It isn’t in the bag yet:
Shopping at a Bullock’s in Sherman Oaks, journalist Shari Overend noticed that people making purchases the other day were leaving with bags that said Ralphs Grocery, Sav-On Drugs, Trader Joe’s and so on.
Of course, there was a logical explanation. A clerk said the store is being converted to a Macy’s, “and we don’t have any Macy’s bags yet. Our clerks are bringing bags from home.”
WE APOLOGIZE FOR HOOTING: In response to a recent photo of a fake owl that was failing to scare pigeons from a Culver City mini-mall, Barry Tunick brings up a valid point. The fake owl, he says, has “done a very good job of keeping away the fake pigeons.”
HEY--YOU’RE BLOCKING THE INSIDE LANE! Ramona Jackson of Ojai spotted a local warning sign for motorists who might not notice the thing with bark and leaves parked at the curb.
WELCOME TO OUR ENVIRONMENT: “How do you like being ostracized from your building?” the L.A. Downtown News asked several smokers puffing outdoors on Bunker Hill. Environmental attorney Richard Flye responded: “It’s not my building. I can smoke in my building in Washington, D.C., but I take this as another Southern California aberration--like mango-flavored iced tea.”
FAR OUT: Maybe it won’t be quite as big as the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis auction. But the Space Memorabilia Auction will offer some intriguing items May 18-19 at the Superior Stamp & Coin Co. in Beverly Hills. (Dollar figures are the estimated worth of items.)
* “A white lightweight nylon yarmulke (a Jewish skullcap) actually flown on Gemini V and used by Col. Gordon Cooper to protect his head from being rubbed by the lightweight radio headset he used.” ($400-$500)
* A cosmonaut’s chess set . . . “plastic, closed box, magnetic, traveling set . . . one of the few flown chess sets we have seen.” ($500-$600)
* A French Roller Razor, “designed to be used ‘dry,’ it comes complete in a travel case with a mirror, cleaning rods and instructions (in French). We’re told that (cosmonaut Yuri) Gagarin took this razor with him on several trips.” ($150-$250)
* “Mars Man,” by Janine Cooper, an oil painting of a scary-looking space alien described as “an unusual work done in mainly shades of green and white against an orange-red background.” ($250-$350)
* A “Cosmonaut Survival Machete” with a “triangular hard-chromed blade and a special rubber handle with nylon cord and gray nylon sheath. This machete is carried on all Soyuz flights as part of the survival kit.” ($200-$300) After all, a cosmonaut never knows when he might run into Mars Man.
THIS GUY COULD REALLY KEEP ORDER IN COURT: One of the three Japanese nationals on the roster of the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League of American Football is linebacker Shigemasa Ito. Naturally, Ito has been nicknamed “Judge” by his teammates.
miscelLAny
John Wilcock of Topanga, co-editor of the Witches’ Almanac, sent along the 1996 edition, which says a survey found that Sagittarians have the fewest accidents of any motorists (male or female). Those born under the sign of Aries are the most likely to bang up their cars. That must be why Aries’ sign is the ram.
