Transamerica Life Cos

Pediatric nurse Gail Gonzales says that at least half a dozen mornings a year, working parents wake up to the dreaded words: "Mommy, I don't feel good. . . ." Suddenly, what might have been a carefully mapped-out day is shattered by desperate calls to sitters, grandmothers or neighbors, the dreary prospect of lost wages or missed meetings, calling in "sick" to an annoyed boss, expensive medical bills and even resentment toward the sick child.

Economic concerns have caused a few companies to cancel plans to send floats to the 102nd annual Tournament of Roses Parade, but others have jumped in to fill their places, event organizers and float builders say. "You always manage to fill the parade, but you may fill it with a different caliber of float," said Bill Lofthouse, co-owner and president of Bent Parade Floats in Pasadena, the largest local float building firm.

The lineup for the 97th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena: 1. U.S. Marine Corps Band. 2. "A Celebration of Laughter" by Small World Greetings. 3. Long Beach Mounted Police. 4. "Turning Tears to Laughter" by Rotary International. 5. Valley Hunt Club. 6. "The Sierra Madre Swimming Lesson" by City of Sierra Madre. 7. Conroe High School Marching Band. 8. "Texas Sesquicentennial" by Farmers Insurance Group. 9. Grand Marshal Erma Bombeck. 10. Porterville High School Marching Band. 11.

Gray hair doesn't necessarily mean a gray outlook on life, particularly if you live in the West, a national survey of two generations has found. Nationally, 91% of those 65 and older who were polled were found to be completely or partially satisfied with their current standard of living. And a majority of those in the West "almost never worry" about their finances. "Seniors may be the most optimistic age group in American society," Dr. John C. Pollock said by phone from New Jersey.

Some of the nation's biggest corporations say they do not discriminate against workers with AIDS or related conditions, but only a few actually have written policies on how to deal with the disease. Those were the major findings of a report released Thursday that is based on 164 replies to a survey mailed last October to the nation's 1,000 largest public corporations.

An innovative plan allowing Los Angeles city employees to make child support payments through payroll deductions took its first baby steps just two months ago. Now the program, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, is off and running like a curious toddler.

The announcement of traffic restrictions imposed on downtown Los Angeles commuters to accommodate the Sept. 15 motorcade of Pope John Paul II forced businesses Friday to begin looking for innovative ways to get employees to their jobs that morning. Others began to talk about curtailing activities or closing for the day. Personnel managers pored over motorcade and street-closure maps and also dusted off Olympic-era commuting plans.

As bright red taillights of cars stuck in traffic clogged the lanes below, carpoolers on an elevated portion of the Harbor Freeway began driving Wednesday on the first roadway built in Los Angeles over an existing freeway. The landmark project--the closest thing Los Angeles has to a double-deck freeway--is expected to become a testing ground for a new concept in solving the region's traffic problems.

The Malibu Colony Coffee Shop went out with a rush Thursday, serving its final meals before shutting to make way for a new mall. By early afternoon, estimated Natalie Brown, who has operated the popular diner with husband Herb for the last 10 of its 31 years, between 2,000 and 3,000 people had shown up. The place seats 44. "We're just swamped," she said tearfully.