Ig(nition) Alert:Dona Dower took a bit of...

Ig(nition) Alert:

Dona Dower took a bit of on-the-air kidding at radio station KNX/AM Tuesday morning when she was late for work because of misplaced car keys. Of course, she sort of expected that kind of reaction, being the station’s traffic reporter and all.

OFF-THE-WALL TRIBUTE: Mark J. Featherstone snapped a shot of an outdoor Mother’s Day wish on Pico Boulevard (see photo). Some guys will do anything to avoid a greeting-card store.

A FEW OF THE ITEMS: Some of the items that readers suggested should be buried in the planned time capsule outside the luxurious new MTA headquarters near Union Station:

* “Dirt from the MTA sinkhole in Hollywood” (Rod Collins).

* A model of the Titanic (Paul Ecker).

* A copy of the movie “Speed,” which culminates with a Red Line car bursting through the pavement on Hollywood Boulevard (David Sanchez).

* A copy of the “Dilbert” comic strip “to symbolize the most ineptly managed organization in the history of man” (Carolyn Ziegler-Davenport).

* The bust of MTA board member Nick Patsaouras that stands outside the building (John Walsh).

* A copy of a $250 citation issued to a Blue Line passenger for eating a throat lozenge; the citation was later dismissed by a judge (Kevin Mason).

* And, finally, a wad of gum--so that the MTA official who removes it from the time capsule years from now will be cited by MTA police (Gary Bolen).

DROP THAT SHOVEL! Reader Aubrey Compton opposes the time capsule, pointing out that with the agency’s “track record it may not be a good idea for them to dig any new holes. And, the way they stick to time schedules, if they planned to dig the capsule up in 20 years, they might have to start digging for it the week after they buried it.”

LAUNDRY TAG LITERATURE: In terms of poetry it doesn’t match other pieces of cloth we’ve reviewed. But Peggy Smith of L.A. did find a fine set of dueling directions on a blouse (see excerpt).

LOST WORLD OF BURBANK: After numerous cinematic assaults, L.A. escapes unscathed in Steven Spielberg’s “Lost World.” Sort of. The script calls for a dino attack on San Diego. But the streets of Burbank doubled for those of San Diego. Johnny Carson must be proud.

JUST WHAT WE NEED: A former L.A. bartender had an item on display at an invention expo in Pittsburgh--a shot glass with a make-believe gun barrel on one side and a make-believe gun handle on the other. “Everyone drinks shooters, and one day it just came to me,” he told USA Today. Can’t you just see yourself stepping up to a counter where 10 guys have glasses shaped like guns?

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Perhaps our 4-year-old son, Jamie, has been watching too much television lately. The other day, he told very us seriously that he had to leave the room. “I’ll be right back,” he added, “after these messages.”

Steve Harvey can be reached by telephone at (213) 237-7083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by e-mail at [email protected] and by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.