Can We Forget This?: Press aide David...

Can We Forget This?: Press aide David Beckwith must have cringed when he saw the latest words of his boss, Vice President Dan Quayle, in Newsweek: “I love California. I grew up in Phoenix.” So he hunted down the whole quote, which shows that Quayle really does know where Phoenix is: “I love California. I grew up in Phoenix, Ariz. A lot of people forget that.”

Wedding Gift: It’s been almost two years since making their reservation, but Mark Lee and Jan Davis just had their flight confirmed Tuesday. The astronauts, who married in January, will be allowed to fly together on a 1992 mission--couples on the same flight were once banned by NASA. Said a NASA spokesman: “Will a spouse show a mate preference of some sort? I think it’s kind of far-fetched.”

Kinder, Gentler: Stephen King, creator of the horrific hotel in “The Shining” and the terrifying clown of “It,” preferred much gentler reading as a child: Dr. Seuss. The author says his favorite book was the good doctor’s “McElligot’s Pool.” Other celebrities surveyed included humorist Erma Bombeck, whose favorite book was “Heidi,” and Alan Alda--Hawkeye from TV’s “MASH”--who devoured “The Legends of King Arthur.”

Sniffed At: Star pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers is a mere pinch hitter to some children. The real standouts in the trading card market from Brownsville, Tex., to Yuma, Ariz., are drug-sniffing canines, pictured on a set of cards issued by the U.S. Customs Service. Said a customs agent: “The cards are a hook for kids to think about the drug issue.”