Wobbly Balance Foils Getaway

A suspected drunk driver who had more than one set of wheels came to the attention of DWP patrolman Philip Wickey. He received a call from LAX police after a woman crashed into a street light near the airport.

“What made this incident memorable was that after the collision, when the car finally came to a stop, the driver reached into the back seat and pulled out a skateboard on which she tried to make her getaway,” Wickey said.

The sidewalk surfer didn’t get far, apparently suffering from balancing problems.

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TRAVELERS ADVISORY: By the way, if someone mentions that there’s an LAX Firing Range (see photo), no need to change your flying plans. It’s a few miles from LAX on Manchester Boulevard. And it’s indoors.

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WILL WORK FOR HOUSE: Mildred Thomson of Dana Point found a real estate bargain in an advertising supplement (see accompanying)--assuming you don’t mind having to do some sweeping.

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HAMILTON HIGH’S RASCALS: It had been years since I last visited my alma mater, Hamilton High, unless you count the recurring dream in which I discover with a shiver that I’m there for a final exam in a class I didn’t know I was taking. (The shiver is also related to the fact that I’m wearing only underwear.) I dressed more formally for Hami’s all-classes reunion in West L.A. the other day. Eyeing the various exhibits, I realized I was unaware of the 69-year-old school’s many alumni who were child actors at the nearby studios, including Doug Haig (Class of 1938).

Haig, who appeared with such stars as Harold Lloyd, said that being a child actor wasn’t kids’ play in the 1920s and 1930s. “Sometimes, when they wanted you to cry for a scene they’d slap you,” he said.

Alumni historian Eloise McNerney pointed out that at least three of the Little Rascals from the “Our Gang” comedies--Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, Spanky McFarland and Joe Cobb (see photo)--attended Hamilton at times.

The 83-year-old Cobb, who didn’t feel well enough to attend, still gets fan mail, said McNerney.

She could vouch for the rascality of Alfalfa, whom she attended grade school with. “He butted me in the stomach once and I thought I was going to die,” she said.

miscelLAny:

Tuesday marked the 103rd anniversary of the debut of L.A.’s first driver. Inventor J.F. Erie motored out of a West 5th Street garage at 2 a.m., so as not to scare the horses, on the first journey of a gasoline-powered car through the city. He did car-share, by the way, taking his partner and four other brave souls.

The car overheated on the short trip and barely made it back to the garage. One news report noted that the tallyho had been forced to negotiate the “awful 6th Street pavement” and “chuckholes innumerable on Main Street.” Downtown doesn’t seem to have changed much.