An Ill-Timed Trip Back to the ‘60s
Dressed like hippies, members of Adrienne Omansky’s seniors acting class gathered recently in a Westside park for a 1960s-theme picnic. The performers, ages 60 to 90, wore torn clothes, sported dirty wigs and brought signs that said “Make Peace Not War” for the class picture.
Suddenly, Omansky noticed a police helicopter hovering above.
She wondered why law enforcement would be monitoring a city-sponsored acting class. Then she remembered it was Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention.
“The police probably couldn’t tell that they were seniors from up there,” Omansky said. “I guess they figured we were getting ready to march downtown.”
*
STEP RIGHT UP: Welcome to Harvey’s Hall of Curiosities (see accompanying), where you can find:
* A banana ad that was penny-wise but pound-foolish (Mike Tracy, Newport Beach).
* A restaurant for nudists (Pat Davey of Northridge).
* A changing table that must be for preemies only (Becky Larsen of Irvine).
And, finally:
* A Northern California inn for those who really like to sleep in (Ralph Merrill of Long Beach).
I forgot to ask Merrill if he found that place in a bed-and-no-breakfast guide.
*
PRESIDENTIAL FLAVOR RETURNS: Readers continue to churn out ice-cream names for the candidates, including Al Gore, who inspired Tipper Toffee Squeeze (from Mike Gilligan), Bore-nge (Leo McElroy) and Temple Fund Fudge (Mark Rosenblum).
George W. Bush brought forth Dubeya Delight (Gilligan) and Mangled English Toffee (Kent Lee).
And Ralph Nader drew Lemo-Nader (Laurel Hall), while Pat Buchanan was identified with Plum Nuts (McElroy).
*
ANOTHER SCOOP: McElroy wouldn’t stop there. He philosophized:
“While most of the above either FUDGE issues or go for RAISIN’ CASH-EW, we can only say, go MAN-GO. Because one of them will win, KUMQUAT may! And the others will be left with sour GRAPE and argue-MINT, not to mention being PISTACHIO.”
miscelLAny:
I tuned in to Redlands-based KOLA (99.9/FM), which was honoring Labor Day by having callers compete to see who had the most unpleasant job. Unfortunately, I pulled in to work before I found out whether the winner was Elva, who told of packaging cow and bat fertilizer, or Don, a groomer who recounted harrowing tales of shaving doggie bottoms.
*
Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.