When Your Neighborhood Is Flooded, Grab a Moose

I still haven’t gotten over that footage of Manhattan Beach residents padding canoes through their flooded neighborhood the other day. But the closed-captioned broadcast that accompanied the pictures on one station told an even more incredible story. It said the residents were traveling, not by canoes, but by “moose.”

As if driving conditions weren’t bad enough: At Mammoth, Jane Nefeldt of Hermosa Beach and Barbara Kleinman of Santa Monica each noticed a sign giving motorists permission to “dive” in the snow (see photo).

Might be safer aboard a moose.

More food for thought: Today’s specials du column in the dining adventurously category (see accompanying) include a salad prepared in unorthodox fashion (spotted by Alan Frisbie of L.A.) and what appears to be a warning to dieters from a fast-food stand (photo by Kim Airs of L.A.).

Escaping L.A.: If you’re one of those wise folks who wait until after the holidays to take a vacation, you might want to consult an article about cruises by former L.A. disc jockey Geoff Edwards in Westways magazine.

Edwards recounts some of the colorful characters he has encountered on the high seas, ranging from a passenger “who called home every night, at the cost of $15 per minute, to talk to her dog,” to a foreign tour guide who declared that the inhabitants of one local mountain community sprouted wings and flew at night.

The guide added: “If I weren’t a Christian, I would kill them all.” Said Edwards: “The tour bus became very quiet.”

Speaking of memorable quotes: The Sports Illustrated Anniversary Book (1954-2000) offers several observations over the years from local personalities, including:

* A young Magic Johnson, on how well he and Laker teammate James Worthy worked together: “It’s almost like we have ESPN.”

* Former USC and Tampa Bay Bucs football coach John McKay, on what he thought of his team’s “execution” after a defeat: “I think it’s a good idea.”

* Onetime Angel player Rocky Bridges, on why he refused to eat snails: “I prefer fast food.”

* Tennis star Andre Agassi, on what he thought of the musical “Les Miserables”: “I left at halftime.”

* And, finally, incomparable Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully, on the status of an injured player who was listed as “day to day”: “Aren’t we all?”

miscelLAny: Perhaps KFWB-AM (980) summed up Monday best, between rainy day SigAlerts: “It’s the 135th anniversary of the National Weather Service and this is how they celebrate?”

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.