Judging a Phone Book By Its Cover

With barely a thud this week my new AT&T phone book arrived. Moving from a city that jams dozens of suburbs into a single metro-area encyclopedia, I was excited to see this slender volume in my new hometown. One handy book with only listings from Silver Lake, Los Feliz and Atwater Village? Count me in. As a resident of northeastern Los Angeles, I fully intended to use it. (Next time my computer was off, of course.) Then I opened the phone book. Inside is a different story. And a different geography. The listings, the maps and the ads are all for northwestern Los Angeles. Under Birds & Bird Supplies (p. 55) for example, you don't find Pampered Birds on Glendale. But you do see Omar's Exotic Birds on Santa Monica. (Omar's, by the way, is not on Santa Monica any more. And it has a new phone number.) So thanks anyway (new!) AT&T for all the fascinating information about West Hollywood and environs. But I'll just keep my computer on.