If Memory Serves, What 7-Year-Old Heard Was No Mickey Mouse Apology

The story here about the mom who ran over the foot of an Autopia operator at Disneyland brought back a different kind of memory for Pete Salisbury.

“In 1960 when I was about 7, I was at Disneyland for a TRW family day,” he said, “and they lined up everybody for a group shot. Mickey, who was holding my left hand, stepped on my foot. A very deep adult voice came out of Mickey saying, ‘Sorry.’ ”

Added Salisbury: “I never told anyone this story because at the time I thought no one would believe it.”

Imagine how shocked Minnie must have been.

Two-headed monsters: I’m just glad Salisbury didn’t take it as hard as the child whose parents sued Disneyland years ago. Seems the kid became distressed after seeing one of the Disney cartoon characters running around behind the scenes with his head under his arm.

Unclear on the concept: An acquaintance of Annette Lignowski of Saugus moved from Oklahoma to Chicago and took her longhaired cat to a pet shop for a “line cut” -- one in which all the fur hanging below the tabby’s tummy is trimmed so it won’t become matted. When she returned to pick up her pet, she was surprised at how large the bill was.

She asked the groom, in her Oklahoma accent, if he understood what a “line cut” was. And he said, in his Chicago accent, “Yes, I know what a ‘LION cut’ is” (see photo). Tabby was not tickled.

Sleepless in Sequoia: You’d think people wouldn’t need a warning about camping in a road. But on a visit to Sequoia National Park, Jim Burson of Ventura found out differently (see photo). A ranger told Burson that some campers edge out onto the road when the park is crowded. Others, he said, are just too cheap to pay for a site. Not sure I’d be able to sleep soundly at night in such an arrangement, even if I was in the slow lane.

Numbers game (cont.): “The picture of the sign at the gas station in Thursday’s column made me wonder if it had something to do with the European Community,” wrote Jim Goodenough of Canoga Park, “and was some strange currency conversion of Euros to dollars” (see photo). Best explanation I’ve heard.

Taking a back seat to no one: A basketball fan recounted to the McDonnell-Douglas show on KSPN-AM (710) how he held Laker season tickets for several years and became increasingly frustrated because the club wouldn’t move him to a better location. So, he said, “one of the ways I decided to upgrade was to buy the team.”

The fan was Jerry Buss, the current Laker owner.

Also taking things into his own hands: I’m reminded of the time in 1966 when the Desert Inn in Las Vegas told billionaire Howard Hughes that he would have to check out of his suites in the hotel because they had been reserved for someone else for Christmas. Hughes simply had his aides buy the hotel.

miscelLAny: During the Lakers-Indiana game the other night, Laker forward Mark Madsen lost a shoe while running down the floor. Realizing he needed more traction, Madsen tore off his sock and continued playing until someone called a timeout. Never underestimate the value of a Stanford education.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; or by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012