A chance encounter made this small-town girl our February Playmate A lovely-visaged valentine to brighten the short drear days of the year's shortest month, Eleanor Bradley became our February Playmate almost by accident -- or was it fate? A small-town girl from the Midwest, she'd looked forward with excitement to her first West Coast vacation, to the wonderful time she'd have in sun and surf. And fun she had; but what Eleanor didn't anticipate -- and what proved to be the high point of her vacation -- was that our photographer would discover her strolling the glistening strand, and that this would lead to her becoming our valentine Playmate. We believe our readers will share our feeling -- after gazing on her tawny beauty -- that fate was kind indeed to bring us this sweet siren by the sea.