If Alleged Codger Dodger Was Making a Play for Sympathy, He Struck Out

Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre admittedly was a bit weary when he flew back from the East to attend a fundraising dinner at Universal Studios for the organization Reviving Baseball in the Innercities.

“I’m not 19 anymore,” Beltre sighed.

Right. He’s all of 25 now.

At the other end of the spectrum: I was reminded of the reaction of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., at the age of 90, to seeing a beautiful young woman.

“Oh, to be 70 again,” Holmes lamented.

My summer collection: To honor the advent of the glorious season, I’ve pulled out a few appropriate snapshots from my files, including a two-finned car, a bit of philosophy about summer options from the South Bay and a mole-protection notice. (This type of mole is defined in the dictionary as “a massive stone structure set up in the sea as a breakwater, pier or jetty.”)

In addition, Marian Shaw sent along a daring suggestion her husband received for beating the heat -- from the Oxford Housing Authority, of all groups (see accompanying).

And if you’re looking for a spot for a picnic, forget about one median in Buena Park, snapped by Paul Schowalter. The “Park” sign has since disappeared.

Character counts (calories): Ethicist Michael Josephson has called himself part of “a neglected minority in sports: the spectacularly unfit.” But, as he related in his radio commentary, he was able to complete his leg of the Olympic torch relay in L.A. because of his rigorous training regimen: “I’d lost 10 pounds, a drop in the bucket, bought new running shoes, ran around the block a few times and practiced holding up an Aim-N-Flame lighter in torch position.”

A less honorable carrier: The Beach Reporter newspaper said a $600 surfboard was stolen from a Manhattan Beach bar the other night, just after midnight. “The bar’s security video captured the thief taking the surfboard off the wall and leaving the location with it,” the newspaper said. “In the video, the thief is seen drinking a beer from a pitcher. An employee recognized the thief as a customer who had been there before.”

Sounds like a potential wipe-out for the suspect.

Our bickering basketball team: “People are now criticizing the FBI and CIA for failing to work together despite the fact that they’re on the same team,” noted comic Jay Leno. “You know what we call that in L.A.?

“The Lakers.”

miscelLAny: I’m so shaken by the Lakers’ defeat that I’m leaving town on vacation for two weeks. See you in July.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, and by e-mail at steve .harvey@latimes.com.