Oversights Are an Embarrassment to Some Drivers, a ‘Miracle’ to Others

Writer Joe Shea saw a young man in a waiter’s uniform hurry out of a Red Line car at the 7th Street stop and call to another departing rider: “Sir, sir, you forgot your umbrella.” Talk about good service! Actually, the waiter, who toils at Pete’s Cafe downtown, found the umbrella on the fellow’s seat, not in the restaurant. But I still think he deserved a tip.

Drive-away “oops” mishaps: Jim Herschler of Harbor City once took his misbehaving car to the house of his buddy Jeff, a mechanic. When Jeff finished, the two men chatted. Jeff took one last look under the hood and then Herschler left. A few blocks later, he was pulled over by a cop.

“The first thing he asked was, ‘Have you been drinking?’ ” Herschler recalled. “I said, ‘No sir.’ I wondered why in the world he’d ask me that. “He had me get out of the car and pointed to the roof. There was a 12-ounce can of Budweiser up there.” The beer belonged to Jeff, who had placed it there before taking that last peek under the hood.

“I didn’t go to jail or get a ticket,” Herschler said. But the beer was removed from his roof.

A more sober “oops”: “I was walking to a bus stop and saw a car at a stop sign,” recalled John Hamilton Scott of Sherman Oaks. “I walked in front, signaling for him not to drive away. I then reached up to the car roof and handed the driver his full cup of coffee, which he had managed to keep from falling over as he drove three blocks, uphill, and with at least one other stop sign, from the local Whole Foods.”

Added Scott: “The driver had a look of amazement as he said, ‘A miracle!’ ”

Something else you don’t want on your car roof: Driving can be wild in Southern California. But as Jay Berman of Manhattan Beach points out, motorists in Newfoundland have to be on guard for wrong-way moose (see photo).

Take your pick: Glenn Graham of San Diego found a hotel that evidently uses both casual and formal names (see photo).

Eye-catching names (cont.): Several years ago, Marvin Popkin of Laguna Woods came upon a doctor whose sign brought back memories of an old TV western show (see photo).

Doogie Howser is back? Charles Brown of Palmdale noticed that the label of a pain reliever seemed to recommend a youthful physician. It said: “Do not use for more than 10 days unless directed by a doctor under 18 years of age.”

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MiscelLAny: The discussion here of catchy business slogans prompted Catherine Wynne of Long Beach to contribute the company motto of a trash-hauler: “Satisfaction guaranteed or double your garbage back.”

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Reach Steve Harvey at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and steve.harvey@latimes.com.