THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506230160
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
Tuesday, June 13
3 a.m. - Around town.
Ruth Slovak finds herself in Virginia Beach after receiving a telephone call telling her her son is in a hospital here.
The Dover, Del., native and her sister, Barbara Sullivan, arrive in Virginia Beach OK, but they don't have an address for Slovak's son. Worried about him, she goes into a 7-Eleven and calls the operator to ask for directions.
Miles later and extremely lost, Slovak and Sullivan pull over again to check to their map.
A stranger drives up and offers to help. Turns out he had heard her earlier conversation in the convenience store.
He leads the women to their destination, which is miles out of his way.
``He spotted us sitting on the side of the road. I had already broke down and started crying because we had no idea where to go or what to do,'' Slovak says later in a telephone conversation with a newspaper reporter. ``Out of the clear blue, here comes this man willing to help us. He was so calm and concerned.
``I just wanted to let you know that you do have some good people here,'' she says, adding that the man gave his name as Lesie Powell.
``We're from a small town and no one there would have stopped to help,'' she says.
- Lori A. Denney, as told by Ruth Slovak
7:30 p.m. - Atlantic Avenue at the Boardwalk.
A vendor arranges items on his umbrella-canopied pushcart. On the sides of the umbrella, his products are listed. The main one is ITIALIAN ICE.
- Joe Marino
Thursday, June 15 4 p.m. - Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway.
A van, looking as though it has just ridden in the from the '60s, sports a bumper sticker. It says, ``Thank You for Pot Smoking.''
- Gary Edwards
Tuesday, June 20
7 a.m. - Virginia Beach SPCA.
The morning is off to a bad start. Seven kittens, left in a box at the door, greet the staff coming to work.
10 a.m. - Virginia Beach SPCA.
The shelter opens to the public.
10:20 a.m. - Virginia Beach SPCA.
In the space of 20 minutes, 11 more animals are new residents at the shelter.
Noon - Virginia Beach SPCA.
The count is up to 37 animals the shelter has received this warm summer day.
4 p.m. - Virginia Beach SPCA.
The shelter closes. The day ends no better than it started. The final count is 45 new animals that need homes.
- Mary Reid Barrow
Wednesday June 21
8:45 a.m. - Virginia Beach Boulevard near Pembroke Mall.
A chocolate Lab has joined the traffic streaming up and down the boulevard.
Running in the middle of the westbound lanes, the frightened dog refuses to be coaxed to the side of the road. He sprints away when anyone tries to approach him and finally makes a wild dash down the block toward the brutally busy intersection of Virginia Beach and Independence boulevards.
Unscathed so far, he steps up onto the concrete road divider between the lanes and pauses for a minute, looking into the windows of the cars lined up waiting for the turn signal.
He doesn't stay long, though, and soon, looking more terrified than ever, bounds out into the middle of the intersection where eight lanes of cars, honk, brake, swerve and stop to avoid him.
His luck holds and he eventually disappears from sight.
- Melinda Forbes
10:15 a.m. - 3400 block of Pacific Avenue.
It is overcast and muggy and the spelling gremlins apparently have been busy.
A travel agency sign facing bustling Pacific Avenue reads: ``Fly here, Fly there, Put yourself in our kare.''
Across the street a restaurant sign reads: ``All you can eat sae food, $12.95.''
- Bill Reed
12:50 p.m. - Stoplight at Kellam Road and Virginia Beach Boulevard.
B umper sticker on an '80s model pickup truck waiting at the light reads:
``Clean up the South, buy a Yankee a bus ticket.''
- Bill Reed
7:35 p.m. - Providence Road.
A thin, blond woman is walking slowly down the road, her eyes fixed on the concrete. A chubby man in a T-shirt and jeans is striding angrily behind her, yelling and cursing.
``Dammit, why are you doing this?'' he demands, oblivious to the stares from passersby. She ignores him and continues her journey. He keeps yelling but does not get the desired reaction.
Abruptly the man turns and walks back the other way.
The woman, shocked, stops and falls onto the grassy berm next to the Signet Bank sign. She lies there, arms spread, eyes staring at the sky. Within two minutes the man, astride a motorcycle, roars past the woman and makes a sharp right into Providence Square and the bank parking lot.
The woman slowly rises and shuffles toward the bike. She takes a turquoise helmet from the man's beefy, outstretched hand. They kiss tenderly and she climbs onto the seat behind him, clasping her hands around his ample belly.
The motorcycle speeds out of the parking lot headed for Kempsville Road.
- Pam Starr ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Reaching for the heavens
A worker climbs toward what will be the peak of the new Rock Church
sanctuary on Kempsville Road. The sanctuary, which will hold up to
6,000 people, is scheduled to be completed in 1996.
by CNB