An authority higher than the DMV:So why...

An authority higher than the DMV:

So why was Father Joseph Shea blessing the cars of more than 70 parishioners Sunday at Holy Family Church?

Well, he says, “We consider all things a gift from God and we bless them in His name.”

And there was another reason. Several months earlier, another of the Glendale church’s priests had attended a local car show where he was asked to sprinkle holy water on the exhibits.

That event was reported in Spin magazine, which caught the eye of a German documentary crew. The filmmakers then asked Father Shea if he could hold a group car-blessing for them to record.

The crew was treated to a colorful scene.

“We had classics there and low-riders and even a motorcycle,” said Father Shea. “One man asked us to bless his wheelchair. One fellow’s car had a lot of dents. I said it’s too bad we couldn’t have gotten to him earlier.”

The blessings, of course, took note of Southern California driving conditions.

“We asked God for the wisdom to use these things safely and responsibly,” he said. “And we prayed for protection.”

GOD IS MY CO-DRIVER: We’re reminded of another landmark event in L.A.’s car culture--the 1993 decision by the Sacred Heart Auto League to use TV commercials to urge drivers to be “careful and prayerful.”

Where did the Wells, Miss.-based Roman Catholic organization shoot its first commercial? In downtown L.A., overlooking the Santa Ana Freeway.

WONDERS OF SCIENCE: “Who cares about cloned sheep in Scotland?” writes Kari Pearson, who enclosed an ad from a pet shop. “Here in Manhattan Beach we have birds that are spawned by mammals, and prepubescent mammals no less!”

Reader L.M.D., meanwhile, sent along a second ad that spoke of another phenomenon--eggs being grown.

LIST OF THE DAY: Some other unusual ads spotted in various publications by Only in L.A.’s band of proofreading irregulars (whose names are in parentheses):

* A listing of four “contagious” lots for sale at a cemetery (from Stan Arvig).

* A “free older Datsun, housebroken, good w/children. . . .” (from Kathryn Fagan).

* A restaurant’s (apparently ethnic) special for groups of “20 Hungary People” (from Darilyn Rice).

* A “pacemaker, 3 years old, state of the art. . . .” (from Gregory Brown, who wonders if it comes with an endorsement from the previous user).

* A restaurant that has the nerve to offer “over-roasted” potatoes (from John Webster). We’d feed those spuds to our pet Datsun.

AFTER THE AFTERSHOCKS: The Bookout family of Littlerock e-mailed us that, after “being rudely awakened by aftershocks two mornings in a row” over the weekend, they went to see “Volcano” Sunday night in nearby Palmdale. To let off steam, we guess.

So what do they see? “The magnitude of the first quake in the movie was 4.9,” the Bookouts wrote, the same magnitude as the one that had awakened them that morning--at 4:09.

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Comics performing at the Hollywood Business Expo May 15 will have some ready-made material. Food providers for the event at the Palladium will include several studio commissaries, serving who knows how many over-roasted potatoes.

Steve Harvey can be reached by fax at (213) 237-4712, by phone at (213) 237-7083,by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by snail mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.