A Cat That Wasn’t Let Out of the Bag
After reading this column’s recent items on thieves who wind up with some not-so-hot hot merchandise, a reader phoned with what sounds like an urban folk tale.
But Paul Dearing of Redondo Beach swears it’s true: The mother-in-law of his sister was driving along many years ago when she spotted a dead cat in the road. “Being the kind soul she is,” Dearing said, “she put it in a shopping bag.” She was about to leave the bag in a supermarket dumpster when a young female thief grabbed the bag. Dearing says the older lady thought, “Well, all I’ve lost is a dead cat.”
Later, when she came out of the store, she saw a crowd gathered in the parking lot, along with an ambulance and a couple of police cars. Turns out the thief had opened the bag and fainted.
Here’s the punch line: A witness insisted seeing someone thoughtfully load the shopping bag into the ambulance with the woozy thief.
L.A.--YOU CAN’T ESCAPE IT! Stephanie Sabar came upon a reference to “L.A. Sound” on a marquee in Ireland, of all places (see photograph). She later discovered that it referred to a couple named Liam and Anna.
A.K.A. THE FREEWAY MEDIAN? Conrad Casler of Claremont found what at first glance seems to be the most extreme manifestation yet of L.A.’s car culture (see photo). It turns out the sign refers to a business called Hub Caps Inc. Hubcaps falling from cars are, of course, one of the most common L.A. sounds.
PUBLICISTS’ PHONE MESSAGES WE DON’T RETURN: “Steve,” said the bubbly voice, “do I have a good item for your column, if you’re still writing it.”
CHECK: A graphic in Sunday’s Times on Sheriff’s Department Chief Lee Baca, one of the semifinalists for the LAPD chief’s job, listed his outside interests as “running, chess, reading and teaching public administration and leadership classes.”
In a graphic the next day, the outside interests of Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas, another semifinalist, were listed as “running, chess, reading, and teaching public administration and leadership classes.” It was no coincidence; the Venegas list was an editing error.
But wags in the Sheriff’s Department have been joking about hosting a chess match between Baca and Venegas. Venegas’ real outside interests? We’re not sure. He refused to be interviewed by The Times.
AL GORE’S KIND OF HUMOR: Leo Harrison of Northridge noticed a tag on his shorts that identified them as “the same clothes you’d see in the White House if you were there and passed somebody wearing them.”
miscelLAny
“The Hollywood Wax Museum has moved its statue of Mike Tyson from the sports section to the “Chamber of Horrors,” Conan O’Brien noted on his TV show. “Meanwhile, they’ve moved the Evander Holyfield statue to the cafeteria.” While we’re on the subject, Rosa Kutz of Pacific Palisades points out that Tyson could always fight in a foreign country. “He could go to Spain,” she said, “and get two ears and a tail.”
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Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at 213-237-7083, by fax at 213-237-4712, by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by mail at Metro, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.
