Finally, an Author Destroys O.C.

Angelenos are, of course, accustomed to having their city destroyed in films and in novels, from the standard doomsday quakes to such ingenious foes as a killer Bermuda grass (Ward Moore’s “Greener Than You Think,” 1947).

But Orange County has been largely passed over for this kind of honor. And it’s insulting when you think about it. Even Houston was one of the cities destroyed in “Independence Day” (1996).

Orange County does, however, get the doomsday treatment from televangelist Pat Robertson in his futuristic novel “The End of the Age.”

In the year 2000, a meteor strikes the Pacific Ocean, followed by a tidal wave that leaves “every inch of Greater Los Angeles and Orange County . . . under 5,000 feet of water.”

Among the few escapees are Carl and Lori Throneberry of Laguna Niguel, who are flying to Colorado when the big splash occurs.

Robertson records many touching moments. For example, after Lori Throneberry meets a member of the Los Angeles Lakers on the flight out of Southern California, “a wave of sadness rushed over her” (bad pun, Pat). She “remembered the tragedy of their situation and the fact that the Lakers and basketball and Los Angeles would soon be things of the past.”

No more Lakers basketball? And so soon after the building of Staples Center . . .

MARS VS. SURF CITY: I don’t want to discredit Orange County’s credentials when it comes to disaster epics. The region did play a minor role in “War of the Worlds,” the 1953 movie about a Martian invasion.

While most of the action takes place in the Puente Hills and in L.A. (where City Hall is destroyed), military forces can be heard receiving two radio transmissions:

* “Cylinder [space ship] reported down by Huntington Beach.”

* “The area is under control of Marines from El Toro.”

And that’s the last anyone heard from Orange County.

ALL SHOOK UP: I can’t remember a cinematic quake ever striking Orange County. Of course, one tour company did put out a map of the United States that made it seem as though the area had undergone some severe displacement (see accompanying).

WE’LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT! Chris Wash of Palos Verdes Estates noticed a sign that is appropriate for Halloween week (see photo).

THROWING COLD WATER ON A STORY: The snopes.com Web site of the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society discusses the validity of a story told by an audience member on Jay Leno’s “Tonight” show about her “most embarrassing first date.”

It was the time she had to pee on a long drive back from a skiing trip, she said (in this era of total disclosure). No restrooms being available, she relieved herself outside the car in the freezing weather--whereupon, she claimed, her “warm butt had stuck to the fender.” (I won’t go into how her date freed her.)

Anyway, the folklore society’s Barbara Mikkelson doubts “the mechanics” of the woman’s emergency maneuver.

miscelLAny:

Kent Bridwell of West L.A. received a computerized piece of mail that referred to him as “Resident Human” (see accompanying). What’s interesting is that the letter came from a computer company, Symantec Corp., which makes anti-virus software. It’s a joke, right, Symantec? Or have you caught a virus yourself?