Long Arm of the Law Rakes In a Pile of Off-Duty Dough -- Just Leaf It at That

Sara Lessley took her two boys to Lacy Park in San Marino and was concerned when she noticed a police car.

She questioned an officer, who explained that he was there only because a TV commercial was to be shot at the park.

It seems that the filmmakers had arranged for some leaves to be raked into a large pile so that the area would look “fallish.”

And since the grounds-keeping crew couldn’t be there that morning, the studio was paying the officer and his partner to pull some guard duty, protecting the leaf collection from rampaging kids and dogs. A different kind of traffic control.

While Lessley was there, a second police car arrived, presumably as backup.

Things, as you can imagine, are pretty quiet in San Marino, crime-wise.

Temperamental artists at work? Nora Reuben of West L.A. noticed that a studio’s parking lot sign warned that it uses inspired tow-truckers (see photo).

This is the air traffic control tower. Floor, please: For today’s educational lesson, we turn to Stephen Billard of Huntington Beach, who visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and brought back the answer to a puzzling question that my kids are always asking (see photo).

Blah, blah, blah: In Japan, B. Mike Shields of Chatsworth came upon a warning to visitors that didn’t bother to delve into legal niceties (see photo). If only that trend would catch on in the United States.

Such a deal: It’s amazing how many different attractions are offered by ocean cruise lines. Searching online, Gretchen Hinman of Anaheim found one voyage that apparently offers glimpses of numerous cemeteries (see accompanying).

Assaults on the English language: Lal Akatrai spotted a sign in Long Beach that, she pointed out, seemed to indicate that a store would pay you to take its product.

The sign said: “Priceless Shoes For Less.”

Driving-away “oops!” events: Bob Curry of Fullerton was walking to his car, carrying his checkbook as well as a cloth to wipe the windshield.

After he finished wiping, he drove off and, after going a block, his wife luckily noticed the checkbook falling off the roof.

Heck, that’s not so bad. If it had been me, I probably would have wiped the windshield with the checkbook and written a check on the cloth.

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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.