Road Rage: a Case for the K-9 Patrol

Road rage comes in many forms. Journalist Henk Friezer may have seen a canine variation in South Pasadena.

A car that was stopped at a red light blocked a crosswalk at Monterey Road and Meridian Avenue. A man walking his tiny dog through the crosswalk yelled at the driver and the two men began to argue.

Suddenly, Friezer said, the little pooch raised its leg and relieved itself on the driver’s car. The dog owner kicked the car for good measure.

The enraged driver leaped out of his car and began to charge “when the dog raised its leg again,” said Friezer. The driver stopped.

The incident ended predictably. “The light changed,” Friezer said, “and everyone started honking. The guy got back in his car and drove away.”

SUITE SURPRISE: Don Fawcett of Brentwood received two campaign mailers from the same room (Suite 4510) in the same Flower Avenue building--one from the Coalition for Senior Citizens Security, the other from the John F. Kennedy Alliance.

The strange part was they backed different slates, the seniors coalition endorsing Joel Wachs for mayor, the Kennedy alliance endorsing Antonio Villaraigosa.

Fawcett commented: “Must be a lot going on in that single room.”

LETTER IMPERFECT: At a child-care center in the San Fernando Valley, Steven Elliott came across a marquee that deserved a poor mark for spelling (see photo).

IT’S NO PARK PLACE: It came as a shock earlier this year when Southern California Edison revealed that it was billions of dollars in debt and in danger of bankruptcy. But, as any Monopoly player can tell you, the makers of that board game correctly gauged the worth of the utility years ago (see photo).

DID SOMEONE FORK OVER THE $150? After unsuccessfully attempting to reach an Edison postal box, John Lang of San Pedro wondered if there was something more the utility hadn’t told us (see accompanying). Lang, who was trying to change the billing on a piece of rental property, added that the rejected Edison address had been furnished by Edison.

COLLEGE DAZE: Jamie Hurly of Los Osos has a theory about why some hair dryers’ instructions warn: “Never use while sleeping.”

“I’m a native of Montana, where it can get pretty danged cold in winter,” she said. “I was a freshman at the University of Montana in 1972-73, and during the dead cold of winter, the heat went out in my dorm, which had been thrown together after World War II.

“My roommate decided that the hair dryer that kept her shag haircut in shape would be great for keeping her bed warm at least.

“Wrong. She got a burn and I imagine we were lucky the bed didn’t ignite. I believe her parents arranged immediately for an electric blanket.”

Observed Hurly: “When you’re 18 and freezing, such things seem like good ideas.”

miscelLAny:

In the Mysterious Dental Tricks category, you may recall that Holly Fincher of Westminster reported that the driver in front of her on one morning commute brushed his teeth for several minutes--without ever spitting.

Well, another reader may have encountered the same guy. This reader heard a man advise a yawning co-worker, “When you get sleepy, brush your teeth and it’ll wake you up.”

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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, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.