The old hidden-call trick:A team of Little...

The old hidden-call trick:

A team of Little Leaguers showed up early for a game at a Southland park and headed toward their assigned dugout on the third base side.

But it already was occupied--by the pitcher from the opposing team. The 10-year-old refused to move, explaining it was his lucky dugout, he never lost when he sat on that side, etc., etc.

Finally, the players carried his equipment over to the other dugout, hoping he would follow. Instead, they were shocked to see him reach into his pants and pull out a shiny, black object.

A cellular phone.

He called Dad, whose Mercedes soon could be seen bouncing over the grass toward the field. The father launched into a tirade at the other team’s manager but eventually agreed to move his little hurler.

The kid, incidentally, still pitched his team to victory.

Something to phone home about.

KNBC--WRITING FACTORY: Three books out by members of the KNBC, Channel 4 news team include:

* “Humphrey the Whale,� by Wendy Tokuda, co-anchor.

* “Muhammad and the Marathon,� by Christopher Nance, weathercaster.

* “Trophy Wife,� by Kelly Lange, co-anchor.

Guess which two are for juvenile minds.

CRASHING INTO THE BIG TIME: May 15 marks the 50th anniversary of Tommy’s Original World Famous Hamburgers, a.k.a. Tommy’s, a.k.a. the Shack at Beverly and Ramparts boulevards.

Tommy’s sent us a timeline of its milestones, including this odd anecdote:

“1949--A small airplane crashes near Tommy’s and [founder] Tom Koulax feeds rescue and utility repair crews through the night. Tommy Koulax thinks being open around the clock might not be a bad idea and Tommy’s becomes a 24-hour stand.�

MORE BURGER BITS: The first-day receipts of some burger chains that had modest beginnings:

* Bob’s Pantry (now Bob’s Big Boy), Glendale, Aug. 14, 1936--$12.

* The Blimp (now Carl’s Jr.), Florence and Central avenues, Jul. 17, 1941-- $14.75

* Tommy’s, May 15, 1946--$8.

INFLATION INDICATORS: A cop in “Mulholland Falls,� the 1950s-era movie set in L.A., complains about the exorbitant fee he has to pay his psychiatrist--$25 per hour.

SAY C-H-E-E-E-S-E! Steve Ostrom sent us a can with a label that deserves a poor grate for spelling.

WHAT ABOUT CLIMBING TREES? When Karin oss’ cat Johnnie got sick, her vet prescribed some medicine that also is used for humans. Ross took the prescription to her local drugstore in Palmdale, where the pharmacist said he would have to enter a full name into the computer. So she gave him one.

Ross continues: “When I examined the label of the medicine I found that it read: ‘Johnnie Ross Feline, take as directed as needed. MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS, USE CARE WHEN OPERATING A CAR OR OTHER DANGEROUS MACHINERY.’ �

miscelLAny

Marvin Worth, a producer whose many credits include “Malcolm X� (1992) and “Diabolique� (1996), could be excused for demanding a rewrite of the index of the 1996 edition of “Who’s Who in the Motion Picture Industry�. The mistake is enough to leave anyone mirthless.