Now that we've all gathered, let's begin with some
misheard thoughts for the day.
Dave Kase of Palos Verdes Estates
and Jean Ratajczak of Huntington Beach both confess that when they were
young they thought the Lord's Prayer began, "Our Father/Who aren't in
heaven." And Jim Burke recalled his brother intoning, "If I die before I
wake, I pray the Lord my soldier cake."
Hear,
hear: "When my two daughters were 7 and 5 years old, they asked
me to take them to Disneyland," said Joe Klass of L.A. "I said, 'Sorry,
girls, it's just too far away.' 'All right, Daddy,' the younger one
replied, 'then take us to Nots Very Far!' "
Tourist spots
(cont.): Nancy Stewart of Whittier noticed a spot on Catalina
where there's a time limit for parking — especially if you've trapped
people on that adjacent bench (see
photo).
Just the sponsor for a Super Bowl halftime
show! Kathy Yagami of Newbury Park found an eye-catching sign
that pertained not to nudist park devotees but to Naked Juice products
(see photo).
Fat chance: When
L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti endorsed the idea of fitness-obsessed
L.A. selling the naming rights for the city, colleague Jack Weiss
wisecracked,
"What is the official drink of Los Angeles likely to
be, Mr. Garcetti? Ultra Slim-Fast?" Perhaps. Then again, Judy Silk of
Pacific Palisades found a juice drink whose name might be more appealing
(see photo). Of course, Naked Juice might get some votes
too.
Nutty: One thing about Roger "the Peanut Man"
Owens (see photo), a vendor at Dodger games for 45 years,
he's had his share of adventures. There was the time:
• That
the Secret Service wouldn't allow Owens to throw a bag to newly elected
President Carter because it hadn't been X-rayed.
• That a ban
aimed at L.A. Raider fans almost ended Owens' behind-the-back bag-tossing
act at Dodger Stadium.
The ban, intended to keep fans from throwing
things, was lifted after Dodger fan Ethel Bradley, wife of the mayor,
protested.
• That "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson tried to
duplicate Owens' feat of throwing a bag between his legs, miscalculated
and suffered a slight injury — it's now a part of the "Carson's Comedy
Classics" video.
No wonder then that Owens is the subject of a
biography, "The Perfect Pitch," an affectionate work by his nephew, Daniel
Green.
Incidentally, during a guest appearance at a Habitat for
Humanity project in 1994, Owens ran into Carter and told him about the
Secret Service veto.
"OK, then, young man, stand back and throw me
a bag," the ex-president said. And Owens finally delivered the
peanuts.
miscelLAny: In a story about people who
have problems finding their cars in big parking lots, the Wall Street
Journal said SeaWorld named its parking sections after characters such as
Seamore Sea Lion and Sir Winston Walrus as reminders. But some folks
apparently couldn't differentiate between marine animals. Said a SeaWorld
spokesman: "Guests got confused, so we went back to the alphabet."
Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 7708; by fax at
(213) 237-4712; and by e-mail at steve
.harvey@latimes.com.




