No pledge needed to get into this house

Officers working near UC Santa Barbara hear some interesting comments from folks they stop on the street for unruly behavior. The school’s Daily Nexus newspaper reported that as one inebriated young man was being taken into custody, he shouted at the arresting officer, “I’m not going to be in your fraternity.”

The paper said that “the subject seemed upset” when he realized that “the incident was not a joke.” He was taken to a jailhouse, Nexus added, not a frat house.

Exotic pavement: The other day I mentioned the sighting in downtown L.A. of a manhole cover that had been made in India. In San Pedro, Mark Willis found another variety that had been manufactured closer to home -- not in this country, you understand, but closer to home (see photo).

Their two cents’ worth: In case you missed it, the mischievous 99 Cents Only chain revealed in an ad that it’s offering a special discount to the new Dodgers manager, who’s evidently fallen on hard times since leaving the Yankees. (see accompanying).

As a matter of fact, I do own this parking lot: “My office building has few vacancies, so parking is now a problem,” writes John Carlson of Diamond Bar. Indeed, look who made a reservation with an orange cone (see photo).

God (cont.): Actually, Carlson added, the writing said Godfrey, a company that was doing work there.

Unclear on the Concept: Visiting Hawaii, Bob Rocca was a bit puzzled by a “slow down” sign (see photo). “Might even be a better idea to stop,” observed Rocca.

Car-invading: My item about the problem of people who block sidewalks with their cars brought a note from Jenny Mulligan of Azusa. Years ago, she said, her sister and her brother-in-law were crossing the street in San Diego when a driver “stopped in the crosswalk right in front of them. My sister opened the driver’s side door, pushed the back of the seat up, and proceeded through the back seat to the passenger side, where she opened the door and got out.

“In the meantime, my brother-in-law stood in front of the car to prevent an irate driver from capturing his wife. My sister had pizazz, don’t you think?”

We need more like her, Jenny.

miscelLAny: I was delighted to read in Tom Hennessy’s column in the Long Beach Press-Telegram that Peppy the parrot, Long Beach’s last presidential contender, is still alive. I had lost track of Peppy after the death of his owner, flag-maker Ski Demski (see accompanying). The parrot, it turns out, was adopted by a retired Long Beach police officer who moved to Minnesota.

Peppy had his brush with glory in the 1992 campaign after Demski had a falling-out with presidential candidate Ross Perot. Demski switched his support to Peppy and altered all his “Perot” stickers to say “Peppy” by adding “ppy.” Said Demski: “All I had to do was take the ‘rot’ out of Perot.”

I’ve always regretted that Peppy was not allowed to enter any presidential debates.

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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