THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9412300226
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Faces and Places
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Last month, just before Christmas, in a local department store, I bumped into Bob Crostic, his baseball cap covering the hairless top of his head. The bill, however, failed to hide the twinkle in his blue eyes.
Crostic, you may remember, is a farrier - more commonly known as a blacksmith or horseshoer - who has cancer and is taking chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Friends of his organized a benefit trail ride last summer to help with his medical bills.
Crostic, 60, looked perky that day. He was feeling pretty good, he said, admitting he's been lucky. The treatments haven't made him very sick.
And he's been blessed with the support of many caring friends, Crostic said. That's what counts in tough times.
His wife, Emily - his best friend - wrote me a note last fall, saying they appreciated the concern of people like Joy White and Robin Welch, who had coordinated the trail ride.
``The horse community and our friends have been there for us,'' she said. ``They are so supportive.''
The Crostics take advantage of all the good days. They spend a leisurely morning sitting on their front porch in mild weather, sipping coffee and talking as long as they want to, she said. Or they go for walks - around the yard or in one of the malls.
So what if the house doesn't get cleaned? Sharing their precious time is more important, she said.
The outcome was not so good for some I've written about in this space this year, despite the caring and concern of neighbors and friends.
The community also had rallied to try to help Bobby Bradshaw, a Franklin car salesman who needed a heart transplant.
David Bradshaw, who's not related, and some other friends organized a benefit breakfast and donated the proceeds for Bradshaw's medical expenses. But they just couldn't provide the thing he needed most - a new heart.
Bradshaw's wife, Millie, had urged all of us to sign donor cards just before his heart gave out last fall.
Kitty Duke, a friend to four-legged creatures, continues to be outraged over people dumping unwanted dogs and cats near her home on Manning Road.
She's adopted countless animals abandoned in the rural area and found homes for others so they wouldn't be hit by cars or killed by other animals. But the helpless creatures continue to show up, and she can't house any more.
Last spring, someone stopped near her home and dropped off two black dogs, then hurried away. Duke, along with Julia Lane, who also lives nearby, tried unsuccessfully to catch the former house pets who had no ``street smarts.''
When they finally caught up with the dogs, both had been struck by traffic in different spots of the narrow country road.
Duke just can't understand how anyone could be so heartless to abandon an animal. Taking it to the pound would be so much better, she said.
People are still dumping dogs, Duke said recently.
Courtney Lawrence, a young friend I got to know when I interviewed her for a column in May, has had some stellar success since spring.
Courtney, a year young, won the hearts of judges as she flashed her big, blue eyes and spread her bubbly smile at a modeling search at the Virginia Beach Pavilion in March. Since then, the Chuckatuck cutie has had two modeling jobs.
In another column last year, I tried to make it easier for friends to remember how to spell and pronounce my name, which admittedly is difficult.
The first part, ``Stough,'' is just like ``dough,'' then add a ``ton'' on the end. But most people want to pronounce it ``Stought'' like ``out.''
Stoughton rhymes with floatin', I wrote, thinking I had finally come up with a sure-fire way to remember it. But the next day a woman I ran into said, ``Oh, I read your story about your name - `Stout-on.' ''
Since then, I've given up. Just call me Susie, I say.
And I hope you will call this year with ideas and suggestions for columns or stories about interesting people or important events. This past year has been filled with memorable times and special friendships, and undoubtedly 1995 will bring more.
Happy New Year to all. by CNB