THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130253
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mr. Robert's Neighborhood
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Good news for country music fans: You needn't travel through tunnels or over long routes to see some of the best in the business.
Peanut Fest will bring in Russ Taff, contemporary Christian artist turned country singer; Lisa Brokop, who's consistently - and deservedly - on the charts; and Steve Wariner, with no hits these days but who always gives solid performances. We'll have more about these folks as we draw closer to the event, Oct. 5-8.
The Southampton County Fair, Aug. 16-20, at the Agri-Civic Center, will have some good folks, too. The big star is Ty England, Garth Brooks' sidekick and former band member; Archer-Park, songwriters turned singers who recently opened for John Michael Montgomery in Norfolk; and country comic Jerry Clower.
Look for more about the fair in today's special section and in Thursday's Sun.
Congratulations to Maggie Chambers, the Suffolk youngster who co-starred in ``All I Could See'' at the Generic Theater in Norfolk.
On opening night, I was among those cheering her poignant, intelligent performance. She even received kudos from The Virginian-Pilot's discerning critic, Mal Vincent.
Eva Chavis, owner of the East Washington Street dance studio bearing her name, has written a book called ``Sugar and Spice,'' a collection of memories and philosophies.
Once I got into it, I found it fascinating and fun. Eva, a Suffolk native now living in Chesapeake, subtitles her small book ``a slice of black life.''
It's something everyone can enjoy and many of us can relate to in connection with our grandparents and some other older family members.
Eva's mother, Daisy Ann, to whom she refers as ``Big Mama,'' once told her: ``Never forget where you come from.''
That is the reason for the book. Here are some excerpts:
Running on empty is ``when you reach out and there's no one reaching back. You talk, and there's no one to listen. Move, and it seems you are going nowhere. Work, and the job isn't done.''
Eva's grandmother told her: ``I've cried many tears that no one knew had fell.''
``A running cow - saves the whole hide'' is a delicious quote from Big Mama.
Grandfather had his moments, too, once offering a growing Eva this advice: ``Don't forget - a man can promise you the moon and the stars and not give you one thing. So reach for your own moon and stars.''
In another paragraph, Eva remembers visiting Uncle John's place of business, where the jukebox offered three records for a quarter. ``We would do the stroll until we didn't want to stroll no more.''
Another visit was not as much fun. Eva described the house as hot and smelly, the children living there as bullying. ``They like to hit you where there is no grown people around.'' Eva asked her mom, ``When are we leaving?'' Mama replied, ``Real soon. We're just visiting.''
Eva recalls a Sunday morning meal of fried fish, accompanied by a fear of fish bones, which she asked Papa to remove.
``You were always there when I needed you. You knew I was scared of Sunday morning fried fish,'' she wrote. ``Please pass the iced tea and corn bread.''
In a short passage on pain, Eva wrote, ``Death stops pain. Time heals it.''
One of my favorite passages is ``Tools,'' Eva noting that the ones we need are ``an education, good family ties and common sense. The best tool anyone can have is God's word, the Bible. Within its pages there are many tools. Love, kindness, mercy, joy, self-control, long suffering, peace, goodness and mildness.
``With any of these tools you can get the job done.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``Sugar and Spice'' is available at Pfeiffer's and Waldenbooks
stores.
by CNB