Diner Couldn’t Have Walked Away From Restaurant Hungry

Loren Collins of Yucca Valley saw this note in a local police log: “Defrauding an innkeeper.... Unknown suspect ate $1,275 worth of food and left without paying for bill.”

Left rather slowly, I imagine.

That’s no swimming hole! Near South Lake Tahoe, Amy Johnson of Los Osos found an off-limits area for four-footed bathers (see accompanying).

Tender thought: I hope some of you considerate sons and daughters out there took advantage of the unique Mother’s Day gift noticed by Lois Lyons of Malibu (see accompanying).

It’s all in the mind: “Do you think this is a way of avoiding the paperwork?” asked Maureen McConaghy of Orange, referring to a new method of process-serving (see accompanying).

More mind games: A while back, a reader confessed that he thought one famous song lyric went, “I love you for seven mental reasons.” Well, Ed Schlossman of Thousand Oaks writes that while my correspondent wasn’t overly sentimental, he wasn’t completely off base. “Spike Jones and His City Slickers did do a song called, ‘I Love You for Seventy Mental Reasons.’ ”

From our Great Dictators Series: When Marian Purcell worked for an insurance company, a letter was dictated to a doctor who was going to examine an injured worker. “The claims person dictated, ‘Dear Dr. Smith, Thank you for agreeing to examine Mr. Jones ... ‘ “ Purcell said.

“What came back from dictation was: ‘Dear Dr. Smith, Thank you for agreeing to cram in Mr. Jones ... ‘ I’ll always remember that one.”

AC flak: About the previously discussed van that comes with a “warranty/fiance” (see accompanying), Craig Walker of Orange wrote: “I am curious as to the purpose of the ‘duel air’ also mentioned. This sounds suspiciously like the air-conditioning in my vehicles. When we are on a trip, my wife always gets too cold, while I am comfortable. We usually end up ‘dueling’ over the temperature setting.”

Traveling abroad: As to why Brits drive on the left side of the road, a reader of the Palisadian-Post wrote: “It is my understanding that the habit is descended from the Middle Ages, when knights rode their horses on the left side of the road so their right (sword) arms were free to deal with any ill-intentioned horsemen approaching from the opposite direction.” Fine. But why did the Brits start driving on the right side when they settled America? Maybe only southpaws emigrated.

miscelLAny: Columnist David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin points out that Earl Scheib, the car-painting mogul who was a familiar face on late-night TV commercials, raised thoroughbred racehorses in Chino. Allen added, “To my knowledge [he] didn’t name any of his horses Old Paint.”

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, 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.