Officer From the Doughnut Shop Had a Surprising Reason for Traffic Stop

For our Driving Away (Oops!) Adventures series, Elizabeth Cotter recalls the time her daughter was on her way to work one fine morning when she was pulled over by a police car with lights flashing and siren blaring.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked the officer.

“Nothing,” he said. “You just forgot your doughnuts.”

What had happened was that she had ordered some doughnuts and coffee to go from a cafe and remembered only the java. And how did the officer know?

Well, he’d been sitting in the cafe. Hey, the place served doughnuts, didn’t it?

Unclear-on-the-concept outbreak: Today’s exhibits (see accompanying) include:

* A deli whose business seems to be open-faced. Actually, said Charles Forsher, who snapped the shot, there’s an open gas station on the premises.

* An unusual cooking item (“I prefer a pan that stays on the fire,” noted Steven Knyf of Gardena).

* And finally, a pitch for a resort that sounds quaint, if you can just avoid the incredible traffic jam (submitted by Fred and Terry Ledder of Coronado).

Which reminds me: I heard a radio commercial for a hotel that said, “San Diego is the perfect place to get away from it all.” I admire the way the publicity folks down there have been able to push this rustic-village image of San Diego, the seventh most populous city in the country.

Now if you really want to get away from it all: It took Kathryn Blackmun of Highland Park about 10 seconds to drive through Nutt, N.M., with its aptly named eatery (see photo).

Double trouble: What’s worse than a driver holding a cell phone to his ear? How about a driver holding two cell phones to his ears? Luckily, the guy in question had only two (ears, I mean; I’m sure he had more than two cell phones).

Anyway, Frank Colver of Newport Beach saw the somewhat alarming sight at a red light and was relieved to see the multi-tasking motorist head off in a different direction, talking out of both sides of his mouth.

MiscelLAny: The New York Times’ Metropolitan Diary column carried an item about a young woman who was overheard uttering into a cell phone around midnight one recent Saturday: “I think I’m going to UCLA. They have a complete mall right on campus.” Hey, maybe she’s a marketing major.

*

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.