THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411120021
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Life in the passing lane
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
SPORTING A BRIGHT red Farmer Jack's cap and knit shirt, black jeans and tennis shoes, LeVar Thornton's hands were a blur as he scooped up groceries at a check-out line and stuffed them into plastic bags.
Heavy items on bottom, light items on top. Another bag out the door.
Shoppers moved in a steady, unending stream through LeVar's work station and the other 11 check-out counters inside the new 40,000-square-foot super-store.
It was 4:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday and the 17-year-old high school senior had been at work for an hour. By the time he punched out about four hours later, LeVar probably had packed enough foodstuff to feed a Navy battleship crew. And counting the time he'd spent in school, beginning at 7:30 a.m., LeVar had clocked an 11-hour day.
No sweat.
``It's a regular day,'' LeVar said with a shrug and a ready smile. ``I see my father do it. If he can get up at 4 o'clock and go out, I can do it. It's like a schedule for me now. It's not a big deal.''
LeVar may be a member of the so-called Generation X, but his approach to life bears no resemblance to its stereotype. He is anything but aimless.
He had mapped out his career plans by the time he entered middle school. When he graduates in June, LeVar hopes to find a job as an electrician's apprentice with a local company. Eventually, he wants to become an independent contractor.
To hear him talk, it's hard to believe he's still a teenager. He always seems to be thinking of his next step. One reason he enjoys his job at Farmer Jack's is the chance it gives him to meet people.
``I try to meet everybody I can,'' LeVar said. ``You never know, when I'm an electrician, somebody might call and say, `LeVar, I need some electrical work done.' ''
Chuck Kelley, store director at the Virginia Beach Farmer Jack's, said he has been impressed with LeVar from the day the teen came in looking for an after-school job.
``He shines up front,'' Kelley said. ``He's very polite and outgoing and always looking for something to do. He's good all around, wherever we need him. Whatever he chooses in life, he's just got to be successful because he's just got the personality to do it.
``He's a rarity.''
LeVar has made sacrifices by choosing to work. He won't be running cross country or going out for Booker T. Washington High's basketball team, both sports he excels in. As a sophomore, LeVar was a member of the Booker T. basketball team that traveled to a prestigious tournament in Alaska.
Nor does he have much free time for friends, shooting hoops or just goofing off. He works after school or on weekends three or four days a week, logging up to 30 hours. He does homework during a study hall before lunch, when he leaves Booker T. for an electricity class at Norfolk Technical Vocational Center.
``I'm giving up my senior year, but I guess you have to do what you have to do,'' LeVar said. ``There's just things that I want.''
He wants to be self-sufficient and independent. He recently bought his first car, a sporty 1984 Ford Mustang GT, with his earnings. He also buys his own clothes. And he's opened a savings account - always looking ahead.
``If there's stuff you want, like clothes or a car to go out, you get tired of asking your dad for it,'' LeVar said. ``You try to save him from spending his money when you're practically grown. Then I don't have to wait for my dad to say, `Here's $5.' Five dollars. Whoopee. Today that won't get you anywhere.''
His dad, though, keeps a watchful eye on his son. It took LeVar two months to convince his dad to let him take a job. And still more coaxing before he could buy the car.
``I don't mind him working as long as he can get his homework in and keep his grades up,'' said LeVar's dad, George Williams, who drives a truck for a food-distribution company. ``So far, I think he's been doing pretty good.''
What LeVar wants more than anything, though, is to land a job next semester with a company that could provide hands-on training as an electrician. As part of a ``work-release'' program through the voc-tech center, he would get class credit for the work experience.
``It's hands-on work, and you get paid for it, too,'' LeVar said. ``I think I learn faster that way, hands on.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Motoya Nakamura
Booker T. Washington senior LeVar Thornton works at Farmer Jack's
three or four days a week.
by CNB