THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501060142
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 121 lines
Thursday, Dec. 29
Noonish - Food 4 Less.
There's a crowd at the meat counter and a bit of gagging. In between the ground beef and the pork chops, protected by plastic wrap, are five complete pig heads. They seem to be smiling.
``I'll just have to bring my son back here to see this,'' says one amazed shopper.
- Lorraine Eaton
Monday, Jan. 2
2 p.m. - Phar-Mor.
Sign of the times.
Aisle 3's stock of the popular self-help books has all kinds of family planning guides. But the how-to-divorce guide, packed with the forms needed for a stress-free divorce, makes the rack complete.
- Holly Wester
7 p.m. - Winston Salem Avenue.
A truck heading toward the Oceanfront is appropriately tagged: LUVDA C.
- Holly Wester
Tuesday, Jan. 3
10:23 a.m. - Virginia Beach Boulevard.
A man wearing a white cowboy hat and driving a blue pickup truck truly defines the term ``self-promoter.'' His license plate reads: Preserve the Old West. Sleep with a cowboy.
- Holly Wester
11 a.m. - Garret Drive and Virginia Beach Boulevard.
A pickup truck fails to intimidate a low- flying raptor, probably a red-tailed hawk, as it circles lazily over a side street in the bustling Pembroke Mall area.
As the driver swings into an office parking lot and brings his truck to a stop, the bird swoops to a nearby tree limb, about 6 feet off the ground. It calmly folds its wings and begins scanning the brush underneath, cocking its head this way and that - searching for field mice, rabbits or any other indigenous rodents foolish enough to expose themselves at this hour.
The hawk remains unruffled even as a driver steps down from the truck, slams the door and walks slowly toward the office entrance. As the driver looks back, the expectant diner is still perched on the limb eyeing the underbrush, as midmorning traffic roars up and down Virginia Beach Boulevard.
- Bill Reed
11:20 a.m. - Virginia Beach Boulevard.
Elizabeth Vick is shoving coins into the stamp machines at the outdoor self-service postal station in front of Pembroke Mall.
The Thalia manor resident is adding 10 cents to each letter on which she already has a 29 cent stamp. Postage has only gone up to 32 cents for each first-class letter.
``They don't have any 3-cent stamps. I need to get these off,'' she explains and then laughs nervously. ``My husband would kill me.''
- Krys Stefansky
4 p.m. - Hilltop Shopping Center.
``W hat do they expect us to do?'' a disgruntled woman, reading the handwritten notice on the door of the local post office, says and waves a fistful of letters in the air.
``I've been to four post offices today, including the Cape Henry substation, and no one has 3-cent stamps. They raise the rate; then they don't have the stamps to sell . . . ,''
Another woman, with her arm halfway down the mouth of one of the outdoor mailboxes, interrupts, ``They raised the rate?''
``Jan. 1,'' another member of the growing mob answers. ``Why don't you just go ahead and mail those letters. Let the post office hunt up a few 3-cent stamps.''
- Marlene Ford
4:15 p.m. - 44 East.
A tan Tempo strives for political incorrectness. Among its 10 red, white and blue bumper stickers bashing world order, one reads: I love my country, but I fear my government.
- Holly Wester
Wednesday, Jan. 4
8:40 a.m. - Post Office on Atlantic Avenue.
``First class,'' says a woman in a rush, sliding a small square box across the counter to the postal worker. ``It's an emergency.''
Then she adds, ``My daughter left her hair rollers at home when she went back to college after Christmas break.''
``Well,'' says the worker, as he weighs the package, ``At least she didn't travel with them in her hair.''
- Melinda Forbes
7:35 p.m. - Fortune Garden restaurant.
A family enters the busy Chinese restaurant and the hostess asks politely, ``Non-smoking?''
After saying ``yes,'' the three are escorted to the crowded non-smoking section. The smoking side is completely empty.
- Holly Wester
Thursday, Jan. 5
10:33 a.m. - An office on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
A half-dozen boxes of Girl Scout cookies arrive and office workers huddle around to see the variety and choose what to take back to their desks.
After talking about last night's work-out, a tall blond woman in blue picks up a box of gingerbread snaps.
``Look, low-fat Girl Scout cookies,'' she says in a surprised voice.
But the novelty wears off fast. Without even opening it, the woman drops the box behind the Thin Mints and Trefoils and mumbles, ``Yuck.''
- Holly Wester ILLUSTRATION: All for a measly 3 cents
Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
It was not the most enjoyable way to start the new year. Customers
of the main post office on Viking Drive - as well as most other post
offices in Virginia Beach on Tuesday - stood in long lines waiting
to buy three-cent and new 32-cent stamps. The new postal rate for
first-class mail went up Sunday, but the post offices weren't open
until Tuesday. Everyone, it seems, wanted the new stamps at the same
time.
by CNB