Report of Sheep in Traffic May Have Prompted Some Ewe Turns
On an Internet traffic site, Mike Roush read about this woolly spill on the Ventura Freeway:
“9:32 a.m. -- large white sheep wrapped in a roll in the #1 [lane].” Sheep?
Said Roush: “It sure redefines L.A.’s baaaaaaaaaaad traffic.” (Even if it was supposed to say “sheet.”)
Dueling masterpieces? Henk Friezer of Eagle Rock wondered if Christo had two showings of wrapped art playing simultaneously, one in New York’s famous Central Park and one on L.A.’s less famous Glendale Boulevard (see photo). Alas, the latter closed after three days.
Ooh la la! In a “Don’t be seen ... “ fashion column, David Reed noticed that someone ignored a cardinal rule of journalism -- proofread the stories -- giving the item a racy connotation (see accompanying). Then again, with some of the outfits I see young people wearing these days, maybe it wasn’t a typo.
Speaking of proofreading: Kathy Rasmussen of Thousand Oaks spotted a theater program that referred to a civil war, obviously not the one in the United States (see accompanying).
More crazy numbers: Doug Stokes’ shot of a 9 1/2 mph speed limit sign in Irwindale brought this note from my colleague Brady MacDonald: “The speed limit in Disneyland’s parking lot is an inexplicable 14 mph. My guess is the speed limit used to be 10 mph but has increased over the years to keep pace with the theme park’s ever-escalating admission price.”
For extremely accurate speedometers: The website www.teresco.org/pics/signs/speedlimits.html found speed limits of 4 mph in a San Diego mall and 8 mph in a Virginia parking garage, and, most curious of all, this warning on a covered bridge in New Hampshire: “Five dollar fine for riding or driving on this bridge faster than a walk.”
miscelLAny: After I wrote that the local place name Verdugo translates eerily enough from the Spanish as “executioner,” Manuel Madrigal and several other readers pointed out that it could also refer to the young shoot of a tree.
Which turned out to be welcome news to Dave Brown of Glendale.
Before he learned about the less violent definition, he said: “I’m not sure now if I want to go back to Verdugo Hills Hospital when it’s time for my annual blood work to be done.”
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.
