Indoor Sports That Inspire

When figure skater Dorothy Hamill won the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics, she became such an instant sensation that her wedge hairstyle was widely imitated. Now another Winter Olympics has ended and I haven’t heard of anyone asking for a Lipinski cut.

But a long-haired lass in a Woodland Hills hair salon was overheard saying, “I guess you could say I got a Lewinsky.”

PRE-NINO: There’s a scene in the 1991 Steve Martin movie, “L.A. Story,” in which TV weatherman George Plimpton says, “Sunny, 72. And that’s the weather. Our next weather report will be in four days.”

I don’t know about you, but I sort of miss the days when L.A.’s weather was considered boring and predictable.

POSTAL HUMOR: Karen and Steve Balentine of El Segundo faxed me a Christmas card that was mailed to them Dec. 19 but arrived at their house on Feb. 12. One possible clue to the late delivery: a stamped notation on the envelope that indicated it was first sent to El Salvador. You know, another one of those “El” places.

GOO-GOO MEET GRRR? The O’Tooles of Westchester--this seems to be Family Day in the column--sent along a newspaper ad that listed a pit bull in the “Baby Items” section. Luckily, it was a “loving” pit bull.

COLLEGE DAZE: Michael Cornwell of L.A. came upon a map of the UCLA area that identifies Veteran Avenue as “Vermont” (see accompanying). Anybody can make a mistake--as this columnist has demonstrated--but what struck Cornwell as unusual was that the school was located on Vermont Avenue earlier this century when the campus was where Los Angeles City College now resides. And, too, the erroneous map appeared in a UCLA publication--its basketball magazine. Of course, the Bruin team has seemed a bit lost lately.

THE CALIFORNIANS ARE COMING! THE CALIFORNIANS ARE COMING! “The rumors are true,” Susan Snyder wrote in the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner. “There really is a plan for moving Californians into Utah.”

What has thrown the whole state into panic, she wrote, is the book, “The California Escape Manual,” in which author Mark Bacon particularly recommends the Utah cities of St. George, Cedar City and the Provo-Orem area. “So brace yourselves, Utahns,” Snyder added.

Utah caught Bacon’s eye because of its “strong economy . . . climatic choices . . . social climate that emphasizes the family” and its “outdoor wonders.” (Outdoor wonders? Does Utah have a Tail of the Pup hot dog stand?) Bacon, incidentally, warned Californians to slow down and try to avoid areas that have a high concentration of other Californians. And learn how to pronounce “Utahns.”

miscelLAny:

Did you catch this quote from Frank Sinatra’s wife, Barbara? “I want you to know he has slowed down a little bit, but last week he went in for some tests and told the doctor, ‘If you hurt me, I’ll break both your legs,’ ” she said. “He is still the same easy-going, lovable guy I married 22 years ago.”

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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, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.