THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508170191
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Sunday, Aug. 6
2 p.m. - Poolside at Pembroke area apartments.
Ashley Allen, 9, a rising fourth-grader at Point of View Elementary School, sits on the edge of the pool, feet dangling in the water. She is becoming impatient with two older friends' lack of knowledge.
``Nuns wear wedding rings sometimes, because they're married to God,'' she tells them pointedly.
``Oh, you've been watching `Sister Act,' '' says Kysha Jackson, 13.
``Yeah, who ever heard of nuns with wedding rings?'' asks 14-year-old Monique Lawson.
``You would, if you had watched `The Little Mermaid,' '' Ashley responds.
- Gary Edwards
Thursday, Aug. 10
7 p.m. - Rockafeller's.
In the wake of rock legend Jerry Garcia's unexpected death, employees at the popular Beach restaurant are paying tribute to him in a variety of ways.
While mourning staffers sing Grateful Dead tunes over a pair of two-way radios, a couple of runners have their own memorial set up on an outside deck.
A few stacked fish boxes serve as a makeshift altar for Garcia memorabilia. A bottle of vodka, an empty beer bottle and scattered pills share the space with a wannabe marijuana joint and a few lines of sugar.
Beneath the mini-temple hangs a white napkin, with an inscription in red ink. It reads: R.I.P. Jerry, '42-'95, Chris and Chad love you.
- Holly Wester
Friday, Aug. 11
4:20 p.m. - Gap at Lynnhaven Mall.
Two employees are chatting back in the dressing room when a cute brunette enters to try on a tiny pair of jeans.
``That's the kind of girl I need,'' the dark-haired male clerk whispers to his blond co-worker. ``She's perfect.''
``Well sometimes you have to wait for perfection,'' she answers. ``It took my husband four years to find me!''
- Holly Wester
Saturday, Aug. 12
9:50 a.m. - Croatan Beach.
A buff 40-something woman and her college-age companion walk along the shoreline, scanning the ground for funky shells and driftwood.
The older of the two spots a wild-looking branch near a lifeguard stand, picks it up and begins thinking aloud about how she could use the piece in her artwork.
After walking about a block, the woman comes up with another use for this bit of nature. She lifts it over her head, lets it hit her back and uses it to scratch an annoying itch above her bikini top.
- Holly Wester
5:50 p.m. - Bikini Hut on Pacific Avenue.
The bathing suit boutique is in its last minutes of business when a quartet of middle-aged women comes in. They proceed to check out the jewelry.
All wearing silver toe rings and matching flip flops, the ladies scan the glass showcase and try on the latest in dangling earwear. Loaded down with bags from a day of shopping, they contemplate whether they really want to spend any more money.
``Are y'all on vacation?'' asks a woman at the register buying a pastel tank dress.
The ladies nod their heads yes.
``Well if you're on vacation, you have to buy them,'' the local says.
``That's a good golden rule to live by,'' responds one of the women, as she pulls out her Visa card and hands the clerk four pairs of earrings.
- Holly Wester
Sunday, Aug. 13
7 p.m. - North End.
It's hot and muggy outside, and a couple is walking a little black Scottie dog down the feeder road.
The dog stops and looks up at his mistress with expectation. The woman takes the lid off a small plastic bowl she has in her hand and puts the bowl down on the road. The dog eagerly laps up what proves to be water.
Then the woman picks the bowl up, puts the lid back on, and the walk continues.
``Hey,'' the man says, ``it's better than carrying him home in your arms.''
- Mary Reid Barrow
Tuesday, Aug. 15
7:30 p.m. - 73rd Street.
A surfer tells the neighbors that he's been spoiled this week. The surfing has been so great that he isn't even bothering to go back out this evening.
``You should have seen it yesterday,'' he says. ``For as far as you could see, from the North End to the South End, there were surfboards out in the ocean.
``You could have walked the whole length of the beach on surfboards,'' he goes on. ``I've never seen so many surfers in my whole life.''
- Mary Reid Barrow
8 p.m. - 73rd Street.
The neighbors are gathered in the middle of the street, talking about Hurricane Felix. Where is it now? Where will it hit? Will the street flood? Should the windows be taped? The lawn furniture tied down? And so on.
Everyone has an opinion about what the storm will do next.
Another neighbor, who has been over to the beach to check out the ocean, walks by the group. ``What's going on here?'' he asks. ``Looks like you're having a meeting.''
``We are,'' answers one, ``it's a meeting of the 73rd Street Meteorological Society.''
- Mary Reid Barrow
Wednesday, Aug. 16
3:30 a.m. - Shadow Lawn.
Minutes after a John Travolta movie marathon, two young men walk a female friend home.
As the three stumble down the center of Mediterranean Avenue, the fellows playfully debate how long the road's broken yellow lines are.
``They're 13 feet,'' says one, a dark-haired fellow in a white T-shirt.
``I don't think so,'' argues his red-haired friend. ``I would say 12.''
To settle the debate, the guys lie flat in the middle of the road, head to head, compute their height and figure out they're both wrong. The lines measure 11 feet long.
- Holly Wester ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Rough-and-ready surfer by CNB