The weighwe were:A close acquaintance of ours...

The weighwe were:

A close acquaintance of ours remembered going to a Culver City discount store for bathing suits in 1966 and being instructed, upon entering, to step on a scale. Then 15, she obeyed. The owner checked her weight and pointed her in the direction of her size.

In retrospect, it was sort of a startling experience, especially because she hadn’t completely shed her winter padding.

Now, it’s 30 years later and a girlfriend of hers wanted to return to the store for the first time since that incident. Could the scale procedure still be in effect? She had to know.

They walked in and she was relieved when no one barked at her to weigh in. She learned there was a new owner. She mentioned the scale to him. “We still have it,” he said.

Our acquaintance decided to drop the subject and head toward the swimsuits.

NOTHING TO FLAP YOUR WINGS ABOUT: Mollie Davis of Encino found a dish at a restaurant that has a questionable recommendation (see excerpt).

TYPEWRITER DAYS: Ex-Times staffer Jack Jones has written “Barker Bites Back,” a rollicking novel about an eccentric L.A. newspaperman who broke into the business in the 1940s when the basic rule of reporting was: “All women in crime stories are ‘beautiful’ or ‘exotic.’ ”

Barker came along at a time, as Jones writes, when circulation fights among the five daily newspapers in the City of Angels produced news hounds who “climbed porches, stole photographs, passed themselves off as sheriff’s deputies by flashing courtesy press badges and generally saw themselves as actors in ‘The Front Page.’ ”

Barker’s love for the bottle lands him in trouble innumerable times, and Jones features him in some of the oft-told drinking stories of the profession. For instance, Barker, reappearing at his desk after a two-day drunk, is subjected to the rage of a city editor who informs the reporter that he has been looking for him “for half an hour!”

Somehow, Barker survives the advent of computers and, in fact, the climax of the book has him stumbling onto a story that seems to link the Hollywood Dog Show of 1954 with Marilyn Monroe’s death, the Kennedy assassinations, the Jonestown massacre and the recent savings and loan scandal. And, strangely enough, he hasn’t even been drinking.

WELL, WE GUESS NOT! Claire Frith of L.A. came upon a cleaning business that, understandably, doesn’t charge for one technique (see excerpt).

THERE’S NO THERE WHERE? Mickey Mouse’s California Angels are using the Disney movie “Angels in the Outfield” in various ads even though Anaheim Stadium had a stand-in during the movie. The action sequences for the Angels’ home actually were shot at the Oakland Coliseum, of all places. The movie is, however, realistic with its message that the Angels need a miracle to become a championship team.

UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT DEPT.: “Resist Distractions,” said the electronic message board for the Don Kott car dealership along the San Diego Freeway in Carson.

Distractions such as electronic message boards?

miscelLAny:

The newest sex symbol in America is the UPS man. United Parcel Service drivers have even been featured as lust objects in TV commercials, as well as in such TV series as “Dave’s World” and “NewsRadio.” UPS doesn’t exactly discourage the image with the phone number displayed on the UPS trucks, either. It’s (800) PICK UPS.