Hard-bitten thief:Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse gives its...
Hard-bitten thief:
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse gives its “Looney Lawsuit of the Month” award to a man who sued the city of Beverly Hills after he was bitten by a police dog. The nonprofit group, which is based in Torrance, explains that at the time of the biting the man “was hiding underneath a house” after a burglary--a burglary he later admitted committing. He lost his lawsuit.
LOW HUMOR IN THE HIGH DESERT: Tim Elliott of North Hollywood snapped this photo in Adelanto--west of Victorville--which is looking more like Los Angeles every day. Elliott says he’s not sure that the tumbleweeds fit the image, though.
SKIP THIS ITEM ‘TIL YOU’VE EATEN BREAKFAST: Robert Woolsey of Canoga Park found a most unappetizing menu item in the San Fernando Valley (see excerpt).
FISH STORY: Pamela Azar of Malibu sent a note to Duke’s Malibu restaurant “to inform you of an interesting aspect of your interior detail. I caught the marlin that is mounted on the wall above your grille in 1983 off the Kona Coast.”
For 12 years, Azar wrote, the fish “ ‘sailed’ on the wall in the conference room of my office. When I moved to smaller quarters, I had to part with my prize so I reluctantly sold him to a man that said he would eventually end up hanging in a restaurant sometime.”
And there’s a punch line: “To complete the bizarre end of this story,” Azar added, “my nickname for my marlin was ‘Duke.’ ”
LIST OF THE DAY: The origins of some local companies’ names:
* Kinko’s: Refers to founder Paul Orfalea’s kinky red hair.
* Taco Bell: Started by Glenn Bell.
* Adohr Farms: Founded by Merritt Adamson and his wife, Rhoda (Adohr spelled backward).
* Pink’s Hot Dogs: Brainchild of Paul Pink.
* Alpha Beta: Supermarket pioneer Albert Gerrard stacked the merchandise in alphabetical order.
* Universal Studios: Founder Carl Laemmle supposedly looked out his window and saw a truck with a sign that said: Universal Pipe Cleaning.
* Lockheed Aircraft: Phonetic spelling of name of founder, Allan Loughead. He later legally changed his last name to Lockheed, partly to avoid mispronunciations of Loughead, such as Lughead.
OUT OF THIS WORLD: Art Fein walked in during a commercial break in the TV show his wife was watching and said, “Must be ‘The X-Files.’ ”
He was correct, of course. The commercial was for Saturn cars.
L.A. FOR BETTER OR VERSE: Anne Freiermuth composed this ditty, sung to the tune of “Home on the Range,” after her mother moved to Topanga. “I have offended some (including my mom) with the lyrics, but I feel the truth must be known,” Freiermuth said.
All together now:
Home in Topang-a,
Where the dogs and the hippies do play,
Where seldom is heard
A non-Industry word,
And everybody drives a Jeep Cherokee.
Reminds us a little of Adelanto too.
miscelLAny
There’s an electronic Joe Friday nowadays. The heading on faxes from the LAPD’s 77th Street station says, “Just the Fax Please!!!”
