Odds & Trends

BEST-READ CATALOGUE

The most closely studied Christmas catalogue this year will undoubtedly be Filene's 52-page opus. The Boston-based specialty-store chain has enlivened its book with a plot about a working girl and Truelove, her white Persian cat. The cat's name, the heart-and-holly symbol it wears as a pendant and white cats are scattered profusely throughout the text and pictures, even the margins. (Fifty-one heart-and-holly symbols appear on one bikini panty.) Next week, the reader who comes up with the exact number of True-loves, cats and symbols will be awarded a $10,000 gift certificate plus a $10,000 donation by Filene's to the winner's favorite charity. Nearly half a million catalogues have been distributed (20,000 of them for $1 each in stores); the contest is expected to draw more than 10,000 entries. Truelove is not blind.

EXECUTIVE SWEET

The sweet smell of success now comes in a bottle. For the chief executive officer or those who merely aspire to corporate distinction, a Cleveland firm is manufacturing a men's cologne at $45 per 4-oz. flask called--what else?--C.E.O. The scent is said to be "gracious. When you get in this class you want something that whispers." Next: Ms. C.E.O., a fragrance the company plans to sell to top ladies.

SOLACE FOR SCARED CHILDREN

A nine-year-old girl, left alone at home, panics when her Great Dane starts giving birth to pups. A two-year-old boy is bleeding from a cut in the knee, and the four-year-old girl who is looking after him desperately needs help. These are typical of perhaps 10 million "latchkey" children whose parents are away and do not have babysitters. But these three are lucky because they live in a suburban area northwest of Chicago where a 24-hour hot-line service--apparently the nation's first--has been set up to give them comfort and advice. Kids Line reaches out to some 60,000 children under 13 in several predominantly white-collar communities. The program is staffed by 140 volunteers who have undergone intensive briefing by psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers on such problems as suicide, depression, child beating and drug abuse. Most frequently they hear from children who become frightened when it gets dark and their parents have not come home. The program, launched in September, averages more than 500 calls a month. Says Executive Director Lorraine La Susa: "We live in a violent society, and many of the children are aware of what could happen. Many parents just say, 'Don't let anyone in' or 'Don't let anyone know you're home alone.' They can't go outside. What the hell kind of childhood is this?" This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.