Vanity Has Its Limits for Drivers

Do you need further proof that every L.A. story has a driving angle? An acquaintance of Jody “Babydol” Gibson says in Los Angeles magazine that the accused madam spells her adopted middle name in that abbreviated style for a simple reason: When Gibson applied for a BABYDOLL vanity plate, the Department of Motor Vehicles told her that seven letters was the limit.

FLAP: Is there an outbreak of facklapping on local golf courses? And what is facklapping? The latter question was on the mind of Ivan Finkle of L.A. after he noticed a prohibition of same on a San Fernando Valley course (see photo).

Finkle was told by a groundskeeper that the word is supposed to be “backflapping,” which is the sharpening of blades on mowing machines.

“The blades are coated with a gooey substance,” Finkle said, “and then run in reverse” (backward--hence backflapping). The sign’s in that area because it’s “close to a small stream and the residue would pollute the stream.”

And course officials deserve a slap on the back.

BY THE LETTERS: The initials of colleges have long inspired jokes. For example, UCLA types like to say that USC stands for “University of Spoiled Children.” Some students at Cerritos College call their school UCLA (“University of California, Left on Alondra.”)

In Irvine, UCI has long translated as “Under Construction Indefinitely.” But with still another controversy besetting the school--this over the alleged improper sale of body parts--UCI also may be taken to mean “Under Continuous Investigation.”

THE SIGN OF ZORRO: Still no word from Johnny Carson (or Ed McMahon) on the proposal by a Y-107 disc jockey to rename the 405 stretch of the San Diego Freeway in honor of the retired “Tonight Show” host. Deejay Mark Wilson points out that the 405 doesn’t even reach San Diego but slams to a stop in Irvine, where it becomes part of the 5.

If Wilson’s drive for a Carson Freeway runs out of gas, Orange County can at least take comfort in the fact that it already has one celebrity corner. That’s Rancho Santa Margarita’s intersection of ANTONIO (Parkway) and (Avenida de Las) BANDERAS (see photo).

SPEAKING OF JUXTAPOSED SIGNS: On a trip to Sedona, Ariz., Doug and Murray Schiller observed a pair of signs that don’t fit together too gracefully (see photo).

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You may have noticed that the junction of the Golden State and Ventura freeways was officially declared the Gene Autry Memorial Interchange. Something for drivers to think about in the midst of the daily rush-hour stampede. And it brings to mind the quip by sidekick Pat Buttram about Autry’s wealth: “Autry used to ride off into the sunset. Now he owns it.”

Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at 1-800-LATIMES (Ext. 77083), 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.