
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 9, 1995                   TAG: 9506090068
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HOLD THE ANCHOVIES, TOM

Your order should be ready by now at the Williamson Road Pizza Den. With your mind focused on your stomach, you zip into the parking lot, scurry in and head for the counter. ``Excuse me,'' you say to the figure as you walk by.

You do a double-take. The man is dressed oddly - long-haired wig, frock coat, vest, ruffled white shirt, knickers, black shoes with gold buckles. The face is really familiar, though. It looks like ... it is ... Thomas Jefferson!

Halloween comes to mind. So does ``The Twilight Zone.''

It's then you realize the truth - and you feel like an idiot. Old Tom is pretty life-like, enough to fool a lot of the customers there. He's a resident of the Natural Bridge Wax Museum, brought to the restaurant through Monday as a promotional gimmick.

Next to him are phones with recorded information about the exhibits and events in Natural Bridge.

One employee wasn't told of his arrival the day before. When she walked into the empty restaurant at 7 a.m., the president took her by surprise. Unlike his behavior in Paris, though, he was a real gentleman. ``He's the only `human' I see for a while in the morning,'' she said, refusing to give her name (``My friends will make fun of me.''). ``He's really good company'' - a good listener. ``He's a little old-fashioned, though.''

Sure, we've had Elvis sightings and visits from Jimmy Carter, but they can't hold a candle to Tom.

by CNB