Smile, You’re on Cardboard Camera
Susan Deen spotted this report of a not-so-bright thief in the Culver City Chronicle: “6 p.m. . . . A fake surveillance camera was stolen off the wall of a condominium complex.”
THEY WON’T LIKE THAT AT FIGUEROA TECH: Newsweek magazine notes that Cindy McCain, the wife of the Republican presidential hopeful, has “a degree from USC--’the University of Spoiled Children,’ her husband likes to tease.”
MEANWHILE, ACROSS TOWN: Gloria De Necochea sent along an ad in UCLA’s Daily Bruin that began: “ACCOUNTING/ADMIN. EXECUTIVE for gross position. . . .”
GROSS PROTECTION? Stephen Merager, June Gregson and Ken Hill noticed that a San Gabriel Valley-area phone directory reflects a new trend in garbage collection (see accompanying). Perhaps the hypnosis enables the collectors to ignore the smell.
ENJOY! OR ELSE! Beach cities in Southern California, of course, are nothing if not fanatical about collecting parking-ticket revenue. So, naturally, Gene Miller was suspicious about a holiday gesture by the Huntington Beach folks (see photo). He wondered if perhaps the “free” parking offer was so “strictly enforced” that you could get a ticket for putting coins into the machine during that period.
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FANCY FOOTWORK: Technology has overtaken so many professions, ridding them of the human element. So it was refreshing to see the business card that Barbara Gary of West L.A. found (see accompanying). Here is a gardener who is not averse to using a good kick to remove some shrubbery.
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NOW SNOW JOB: I quoted here an excerpt from a deposition by a local businessman who, when asked why he moved from Michigan to California, answered, “I lived in Michigan.”
Two other residents who fled that area said they understood completely, including Dennis J. Weiss of Culver City. He explained: “Being from Michigan (23 years ago), I know that living there is enough of a reason to move to L.A. With all the Michiganders living here--there’s your proof.”
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MINDING THEIR P’S AND Q’S: A reader asked this column to solve the mystery of the pink trucks seen around town with a single large black letter painted on the side--a different letter in each case. It turns out that they belong to a delivery service.
Writing to the rescue was Natasha Ward:
“A few years back when I used to paint the giant murals on the outside of buildings, I literally spent many hours hanging around downtown L.A.” on window-washer type scaffolding, she said.
“My partner and I always wondered what those trucks were all about. We used to write down all the letters hoping to figure out what they spelled. One night as we were leaving, we saw one and followed it a few blocks. When the guy pulled into a driveway with many other trucks with other letters we asked him what they spelled.
“We were very disappointed to hear that they spell nothing, and they use them only to mark each truck. Bummer! No wonder we couldn’t spell anything with the letters. . . .”
miscelLAny:
The calendars given out by the Original Pantry Cafe show a photo of Mayor Richard Riordan, who is identified as “owner,” next to a photo of James Doherty, who is identified as “co-owner.” I’ve heard of two co-owners but never one owner and one co-owner. I guess Riordan is first among equals at the eatery. Then again, the calendar was free, so who am I to quibble?
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.