Heck of a Thing to Tell a Priest

Father Pat McTolin, a retired Catholic priest, phoned here to say that on a visit to the Getty Center he asked for directions to an exhibit and was told, “Go to L2.”

He observed with amusement it’s not very often that a priest is told to “go to L.”

WHALE OF A PROBLEM? The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific opens in June and tourists will easily be able to pick out the building with the giant whale mural. That’s the problem.

The building with the giant whale mural is not the aquarium but the Long Beach Arena, home of the Ice Dogs--a minor league hockey team, not a rare arctic animal (see photo). The aquarium is a few blocks away.

But new signage throughout the city and on the Long Beach Freeway “will greatly diminish any confusion that could result,” says Linda Howell DiMario, executive director of the city’s Convention and Visitors Council. She admitted that she has, however, joked that a “large neon finger pointing to the aquarium” could also be painted on the arena.

There are no plans to remove the 6-year-old whale mural by the artist Wyland. But the arena’s name may also be emblazoned on the building. This column humbly suggests a name change for the arena--to the Long Beach Not the Aquarium.

WORKING HIS WAY UP TO A TANK: Dottie Mastin of Diamond Bar took a shot of a student driver on a vehicle with U.S. Marines markings (see photo), asking, “Are we in deep trouble or what?”?

And couldn’t the student start with something smaller, like a Jeep?

TEN YEARS AGO: L.A. City Councilman Ernani Bernardi charged that American figure skater Debi Thomas “got shafted” by the East European judges after she lost to East Germany’s Katarina Witt in the Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Council President John Ferraro, pointing out that the Winter Olympics were not on the council agenda, declared that it would be a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act to discuss the Games.

“White act, blue act, green act, I don’t care,” said the patriotic Bernardi, who also commented that Witt wore a “weird outfit.”

Fortunately, tensions cooled and the threat of war between Los Angeles and East Germany was averted.

WILL THE CLASSES SPY ON EACH OTHER FOR THEIR TERM PAPERS? Terri DiDonato of Rancho Cucamonga found these dueling classes side by side in a Chaffey College catalog:

* “Researching Public Records, or Find Out Just About Anything on Anybody.”

* “How to Protect Your Privacy or Help Other People Mind Their Own Business.”

DEVONSHIRE NIGHTS: While on patrol in Granada Hills one evening, reserve police Officers Jack Rappaport and Phil Saloman noticed a lit-up sign at a market that said, VICE DELI BAKERY. It turned out that the first word was supposed to be SERVICE, but some lights had burned out. “We didn’t know if it was takeout or home delivery,” Rappaport said.

miscelLAny

NBC and Time Warner, which recently lost the rights to broadcast NFL games, are said to be exploring the idea of starting a new pro football league.

I read one report that said prospects are dim for many reasons, including a lack of available stadiums.

Gee, I can think of a couple in L.A. and Anaheim. Irwindale’s gravel pits are also available.