THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411110263
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
Saturday, Oct. 29
1 p.m. - Boardwalk at Fifth Street.
A half-dozen onlookers are draped over the Boardwalk rail, watching toddlers ride two aging ponies in the sand.
A 40ish woman, in charge of the temporary beachfront concession, looks on critically as two helpers guide the plodding animals around a semicircular path and deposit the riders near the Boardwalk steps.
Gathered at the foot of the steps are several mothers, a tethered billy goat and a friendly black Newfoundland female, panting from the unseasonable warmth.
A blond toddler lurches up to the dog, which licks his face with two juicy swipes of her tongue. The startled tot bursts into tears and quickly is swept into his mother's arms.
``She won't hurt you,'' croons the woman overseer. ``She's just trying to be friendly.''
The crying stops and the youngster looks dubiously at the dog and at a third woman - part of the pony ride operation - who is trying to distract him by painting a peace sign on his cheek from a pallet of washable colors.
- Bill Reed
Monday, Oct. 31
2:30 p.m. - Stoney's produce stand, First Colonial Road.
As rain starts to splatter down on customers and assorted petting-farm critters, two men grapple with a coop of fancy chickens. Customers make room as they carry it across the dusty parking lot and a little road into a shed.
A grandfather looks down at his little grandson and says, ``Are we lucky? Today we learned why the chickens crossed the road - and how they crossed it, too.''
- Marlene Ford
11 p.m. - A local bar.
Halloween customers are getting a treat from their favorite hangout, but it's not just the spirits that have them laughing.
Besides the group of overdeveloped, androgynous bartenders, a trio of phony tombstones with some not-so-nice messages sit behind the bar.
In black letters are the words: R.I.P. City Council, R.I.P. The Bayou and R.I.P. ABC Board.
- Holly Wester
Friday, Nov. 4
11:30 a.m. - General Booth Boulevard.
Two little girls are eagerly busy in the Virginia Marine Science Museum. They're standing in front of the wave tank pushing the buttons that make the water splash up and over, up and over. Enthralled, they do it again and again until their teacher comes around the corner and sees them at the hands-on exhibit.
``Don't touch that,'' she says as they start to punch the cheap pocket calculator glued to the low wall that runs the length of the wave tank. ``You don't know how to run a calculator.''
They reach out toward a long plastic ruler with moveable parts that measures wave height.
``And don't touch that,'' the teacher says again. ``You don't know how to calculate anything yet. Let's go. Move on.''
She hustles them away from the tank and around the corner.
- Krys Stefansky
Saturday, Nov, 5
3 p.m. - Lynnhaven Mall.
A middle-aged woman wears a feminist T-shirt. ``Can you imagine a world without men, no crime and lots of happy, fat women.''
- Holly Wester
7:43 p.m. - Loehmann's Plaza
As the elections draw near, a truck's bumper sticker says: ``First Gennifer. Then Hillary. Now Us.''
- Larry W. Brown
Sunday, Nov, 6
1:30 p.m. - Lynnhaven Mall.
In the food court, a 40ish woman pays for her tacos and Pepsi and puts her change back into her purse.
Next in a line, a young man in his 20s reaches for his wallet in his back pocket and, as he gets it out, something falls to the floor.
They both see it, they both bend and reach when the woman suddenly stops short and straightens up, her face red to the roots of her hair.
He looks her in the eye and, also blushing, mutters, ``Sorry.'' He puts his condom back into his wallet.
- Krys Stefansky
Tuesday, Nov. 8
6:15 a.m. - Kings Grant.
William Simmons steps out of his Quimby Road home bright and early to find a surprise reminder to do his civic duty today.
Stuck in the ground by his mailbox - and by every mailbox in sight - is a red, white and blue American flag put there by a local real estate company. Accompanying the flag is a note: ``If you don't vote, you don't count.''
- Melinda Forbes
9:30 a.m. - Atlantic Avenue.
A woman is standing on the curb right on Atlantic Avenue in front of the Galilee Church voting precinct. She has a bright pink babushka tied around her head and is dressed in a bright pink jacket and blue and plaid skirt. She has an Owen Pickett guide ballot in one hand and a Chuck Robb ballot in the other. She holds them up as each car passes and looks intently at each driver.
1 p.m. - Atlantic Avenue.
The same woman stands right out on the edge of Atlantic Avenue, this time in front of the voting precinct at the Association for Research and Enlightenment. She's still holding up Pickett and Robb guide ballots and doing her best to influence motorists.
5 p.m. - Atlantic Avenue.
The sun is beginning to set. Still dressed in pink and still on Atlantic Avenue in front of the A.R.E., the woman in the babushka has not given up.
- Mary Reid Barrow
12:30 p.m. - Association for Research and Enlightenment.
A father, mother and three little boys who are all about 4 years old enter the voting precinct.
``Are they triplets?'' a poll official asks and the mother nods, yes.
The parents go to voting booths and the boys tag along to watch. On the way out, the parents are given the lapel stickers that signify they've voted. They ask for one more. That way each youngster gets a sticker to wear home.
``First civic lesson?'' asks a voter.
``We believe in starting 'em young,'' dad says.
- Mary Reid Barrow ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
A coaching milestone
First Colonial High School players and officials celebrate Frank
Webster's 250th victory as a head football coach. The Patriots
defeated Kellam, 42-13, Nov. 4. Webster, who began his career at
Deep Creek, was presented with a plaque and a school jacket.
by CNB