Maybe Panhandler Feels Two-Sided Approach Would Be Doubly Rewarding
You have to applaud a panhandler whose performance consists of two acts. My colleague Roy Rivenburg saw a gent with a hand-lettered sign at an off-ramp of the 22 Freeway that read “Baby Needs New Shoes.” Then the guy flipped the sign to display the message: “Why Lie? I Want a Beer!”
More on the subject of clawing out a living: On a visit to Greece, Tom and Barbara Blackman of Seal Beach came upon a town that appeared to be hosting a convention of crustaceans (see photo).
L.A. Insult of the Day: LeRoy Sweet of Tujunga noticed that a desk calendar attributed a dumb statement about a basketball player to an L.A. mayor, when the speaker was, in fact, the mayor of San Francisco (see accompanying). Still is, as a matter of fact. Oh, yes: The name of the desk calendar is: “The 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said.”
L.A. Insult (cont.): No real L.A. mayor merited a place in the collection, a real injustice when you consider the possibilities. How could anyone overlook Frank Shaw’s dedication of the Beethoven statue in Pershing Square 70 years ago when he praised L.A.’s “sympathy orchestra”?
Carrying on: Gordon and Patricia Bennett of Long Beach spotted a sale of “lumbar,” which they figured would come in handy, especially to carry the items listed above it (see accompanying).
Vanity on wheels: In the latest issue of Westways magazine, actor Don Snell recalls that when he moved out here and decided to get a personalized plate, a friend suggested CO STAR because every other actor in town wanted to be a superstar. Sure enough, the plate was available and he grabbed it.
A few other vanity plates mentioned in the magazine:
* ONOIML8: owned by Linda Kendrick of Fullerton, who said: “I travel L.A.’s freeways! Need I say more?”
* 2XCONS: Gary Mineo and Linda Carroll of Murrieta, who wrote: “The sun brought us from Connecticut.”
* ILIKELA: Michael Warrington of Palm Springs.
Just not enough to live in L.A., I guess.
This game may go on four-ever: Lakers fans are still shooting me suggested phrases to replace “threepeat” when the Lakers capture another NBA title next year.
They include: “Quadruple bypass” (Maureen McConaghy); “U-4-ia” (Annie Eitman); and a phrase you may have uttered when you realized I was doing another item on this subject: “Four Peat’s Sake” (Pam Rycroft).
MiscelLAny: Here June 30 has come and gone, and I forgot to wish everyone a happy fiscal new year--especially those CEOs who haven’t been forced to resign.
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, 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.
