Welcome to Los Angeles, and Be Sure to Have a Shun Fat Day

Dear Convention Visitors:

Life isn’t always what it seems in Southern California, as the accompanying photos will attest. Here are some things NOT to look for:

* Dieters’ specials at the Shun Fat Supermarket in San Gabriel. The phrase means “fortunate” in Chinese.

* Moose accessories in Pasadena. The sign was put up as a joke several years ago by a businessman, who did in fact own a large collection of moose antlers. He also posted a sign paying tribute to Chester A. Riley of TV’s “Life of Riley,” who was constantly complaining, “What a revoltin’ development this is.”

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L.A. AND THE WHITE HOUSE: Some local trivia about presidential politics:

* First president to visit L.A.: Rutherford B. Hayes (1880). The City Council went all-out, appropriating $25 for a banquet.

* Most bizarre fashion no-no: Reporters covering Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988 were given red and blue bandannas in Texas. But they were asked by the Secret Service to take them off at the next stop, L.A., because the colors were the same as those worn by rival street gangs.

* Worst civic insult: During a speech at Chaminade High School in West Hills, 1996 Republican candidate Bob Dole referred to L.A.’s baseball team as “the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

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BACK IN THE REAL WORLD (SORT OF): The Seal Beach Sun reported that “a resident came out of her bathroom to find a woman standing in her living room. The woman thought she was at a real estate open house. Police confirmed with the Realtor that the female had mistaken the address.”

OK, but did the owner sell her house anyway? In this market, it would be tempting.

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ATTENTION-STANTON AND BUENA PARK: “CYPRESS-- Katella Avenue, 6900 block, 2:37 p.m.: A bearded man in his 30s was seen running east with a towel wrapped around his waist,” the police log of the Los Alamitos News Enterprise reported.

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Steve Harvey’s e-mail address: steve.harvey@latimes.com