http://www.boston.com/dailynews/187/nation/Antonio_Banderas_Ho_Hum_street:.shtml

Antonio Banderas, Ho Hum streets make insurance company's list of funny name intersections

By Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press, 7/6/2001 07:30

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (AP) There's nothing all that funny about driving Antonio Parkway.

Then it crosses Avenue de las Banderas.

''You should see the reaction when we try to give directions. You tell people turn left at the corner of Antonio Banderas and they laugh,'' said Kathleen Haton, whose city planning office is near the intersection in this small community 60 miles south of Los Angeles.

State Farm Insurance has listed the intersection as one of the top five funniest named intersections in the country.

Road rage? Not likely at the intersections of Grinn and Barret drives in West Chester, Ohio; and Ho and Hum roads in Carefree, Ariz. They made the list, too.

The intersection of Hickory, Dickory and Dock streets put Harahan, La., on the list. Nearby Mouse Street just missed it.

And one has to wonder if there's a white house somewhere near the intersection of Bland and Gore streets in Pueblo, Colo.

State Farm research agents began noticing funny combinations as they compiled a list of the country's 10 most dangerous intersections. Soon, insurance agents were submitting the streetwise witticisms for consideration. The list was released earlier this week.

And the humor is not lost on those who live near those funny streets.

In West Chester, Ohio, the corner of Grinn and Barret drives have long been a target of pranksters.

''We can't keep a road sign up there,'' said Mark Fitzgerald, the township's services director. ''We had to put one back up for the State Farm photo. As of early this morning, it was still there. I'm not sure how long it will last.''

In Rancho Santa Margarita, residents are taking their celebrity intersection in stride. Although the city's streets were named long before Banderas' acting career took off, officials are embracing their spot on the list.

''We'll take it,'' Haton says.

So what does the ''Zorro'' actor have to say about the streets that bear his name?

Nothing. A spokesman for his publicist said he was not immediately available for comment.

-- Anonymous, July 06, 2001