Odds & ends

By Ed Piper

Imagine, one piece (though enormous and chocolatey) of Great Wall of China cake at P.F. Chang's for $9.75....I can't fathom how, in this day and age, that a pair of grandparents can't take their grandchildren to Circus Vargas so that they can see animals performing. Not even a dog in the show. Was elephants' self-esteem hurt that much by the Ringling Barnum & Bailey show I saw in Long Beach as a kid?....Nick Hammel and Dane Hansen, part of the junior class explosion in sports this year at LJHS, are peas in a pod: both calm, never show tons of emotion, consistent workmen in their many sports of football, basketball (for Nick), and baseball....Jake Grosz in the Vikings' dugout was dressed in a tie and Dockers, instead of the usual baseball uniform and sports shoes, during La Jolla's game against UC April 11. I told the assistant coach he looked like a high school principal...."All we need is a date," said baseball coach Gary Frank of the possibility of the Vikings making up their rained out game scheduled for Petco Park Fri., April 8. Frank is supposed to hear Monday or Tuesday....You can download many classic books for free on iBooks, but you can't get any free music on iTunes. You have to pay for all your songs and albums. (Do young people even think in terms of albums? I think that's a notion from past generations.) It shows you what our society values more....Dane Pieper, star senior middle hitter-blocker for Dave Jones' volleyball team, appeared chipper and was cheering the Vikes along against Parker last week from the sidelines. He is hobbled by an ankle he badly sprained two weeks ago. At the time of the injury, LJHS was ranked among the top 10 in CIF....La Jolla's girls lacrosse team has built much of its strength this season on a big crop of capable sophomores. Besides them, it's good to see sisters Helen and Sadie Lee playing alongside each other. Helen recovered well from her ACL surgery two years ago as a sophomore....