That Butterball Felt Like a Bowling Ball

Hunting a turkey isn’t so easy--even a dead one. A shopper recently filed suit against a market in L.A. Superior Court, charging that his toe was broken when a 25-pound frozen bird broke through the bottom of a bag and landed on his foot. Paper or plastic?

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SPEAKING OF WATCHING YOUR STEP: Karen Hulstedt of L.A. snapped a shot of a billboard whose theme was enhanced by a ladder (see photo).

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UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT: Mardine Davis of L.A., meanwhile, found a resident who apparently wants to make sure there’s plenty of room on the driveway on which to pile rubble (see photo).

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DUELING BODIES: Is there enough room on the Southern California coastline for two Muscle Beaches? Well, there better be because the city of Santa Monica is reviving the original Muscle Beach site. The other version, located farther south, is known as Muscle Beach Venice. In its early years it drew such bodies beautiful as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbo. Santa Monica’s new Muscle Beach will shun weightlifting and emphasize gymnastics with the construction of various bars and rings over the next several months. “We will have equipment for children, too,” said Judith Meister, the city’s project manager. The original site was shut down by Santa Monica in 1959 at a time when physical fitness buffs were still viewed with suspicion. It had nevertheless become so famous that its performers sometimes received mail from Europe that was simply addressed to them at “Muscle Beach, U.S.A.”

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SOME BIG NAMES: The December issue of Smithsonian magazine ticks off some of the notables of Santa Monica’s old Muscle Beach, including actor Steve “Hercules” Reeves; bodybuilding gurus Vic Tanny and Jack LaLanne; and Glenn Sundby, who won a place in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” by descending the 898 stairs of the Washington Monument on his hands. Then there was stuntman Russ Saunders, who posed as Christ for a painting by Salvador Dali. You don’t double any better than that.

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ONLY IN L.A. ON THE FIRING LINE: After coming across a dish named for one Bullets Durgom in a Westside eatery, I mentioned I didn’t have the nerve to ask who that luminary was, mainly out of fear that Bullets might be at a nearby table. Several readers promptly shot off messages. Walter Wood noted that not only was Bullets--real first name George--the manager of Jackie Gleason and several other stars, but he also has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame. Where did the nickname come from? “I always heard because he could be a real pistol on behalf of his clients,” said Lauralee Fitzgerald, his former assistant. Alas, he died a few years ago. Rest in peace, Bullets.

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LETTER IMPERFECT: Ralph Consola, the alumni director at Loyola Marymount University, received a letter from a Georgia firm asking for a list of LMU alumni, apparently as part of an effort to reach out to educated people. Certainly the letter indicated the company’s employees needed some educating. It said, in part: “We would to purchase alumni lists of your college or university. . . . Please all information to the above address.”

miscelLAny:

It’s later than you think. Howard R. Cohen of L.A. found a notice on his doorstep from a sanitation firm that announced: “Spring Cleaning!”

Have pity on us USC grads. Not only did we suffer the humiliation of another defeat by UCLA’s football team but we’ll have to relive the experience again when the traditional (updated) Bruin rooters’ holiday card arrives. On the outside, it will say, “Eight Reasons to Celebrate Christmas.” On the inside, it will list the last eight scores of the USC-UCLA games, all won by the Bruins. All I can say is, wait till next century!