THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602030102
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
Thursday, Jan. 25
2 p.m. - Wal-Mart on Lynnhaven Parkway.
A man says, ``Super Bowl Sunday is nearly here. At last.''
Just as he says, ``At last,'' his lady friend gazes sadly into his eyes and says, ``Oh, no.''
- Carole O'Keeffe
Friday, Jan. 26
4 p.m. - Lawyers' office near the oceanfront.
A group with SPCA interests gather for a conference. A woman's voice betrays a serious cold. ``You sound terrible,'' a man says.
``Actually, I'm on the mend,'' she says.
With a deadpan face the man asks, ``Did you get your distemper shot?''
``Well, I've heard pros and cons on that,'' she replies. ``Some people get one and get sick. Some don't get one and don't get sick.''
``I was only kidding,'' he says.
``Oh,'' she laughs. ``I thought you really meant a flu shot.''
``No, I meant distemper, but it was a joke,'' he adds.
They both chuckle and file into the conference room with the others to talk about the animals.
- Carole O'Keeffe
2:30 p.m. - Aboard the Discovery.
The birthday girl is ready to blow out the candles on her cake during a surprise 60th birthday party aboard the hometown cruise ship.
Instead of a bonfire of flaming wax, there's just one candle topping the pastel confection. It's a bright yellow Big Bird, obviously well used.
Big Bird is a family tradition on all their birthday cakes, mom explains.
They light him up, she blows him out and he's carefully removed, has the icing wiped off and will be put away for the next happy occasion.
- Melinda Forbes
Sunday, Jan. 28
4 p.m. - Farm Fresh in Providence Square shopping center.
Only two hours remain before the world's largest sporting event kicks off in Tempe, Ariz., but the employees of this Kempsville supermarket leave no doubt who they favor in Super Bowl XXX.
``Is the manager a Steelers fan?'' a customer asks the clerk, who is ringing up his purchases.
``Yea,'' she responds.
``Well, it's a good thing they hung this banner near the checkout, because if I'd seen it coming in the entrance, I would have done my shopping across the street at Super Fresh,'' he says with a smile. ``I'm a Cowboys fan.''
Yellow and black helium-filled balloons are tied to each cash register, and most of the store's workers sport Steelers apparel. But the clincher is the several-foot-long yellow banner suspended above the exit. It boasts that Farm Fresh is the ``Steel City'' of grocery stores.
``Are all of you Steelers fans?'' the customer asks the clerk.
``No, the people in the deli are Cowboys fans,'' she says.
- Kevin Armstrong
Monday, Jan. 29
9 a.m. - Post office on Cleveland Street.
``How are you, today?'' the postal worker behind the desk asks her customer.
``I'm fine,'' he says excitedly, ``but that's because my team won last night. I'm a Cowboys fan.''
``I'm a Steelers fan,'' the worker responds sheepishly with a smile.
``Ahhhhhhh,'' the customer says.
``That's OK,'' the postal worker says while getting the man a book of stamps, ``I feel like my team won last night, too.''
``Yea, I guess you're right,'' the man says. ``It was a lot closer than anyone had predicted. At least we got a good game for a change.''
``That's right,'' she says, handing over the customer's change.
- Kevin Armstrong
11:30 a.m. - Virginia Wesleyan College.
History professor Benjamin Berry opens his class with his typical ``good morning,'' but can't resist a little post Super Bowl commentary.
``As you can see,'' he says, ``my comments about the game are on the board.''
The students in the full classroom laugh as they read the note scribbled across the blackboard: ``The Redskins didn't win the Super Bowl.''
- Holly Wester
Tuesday, Jan. 30
8:45 a.m. - Intersection of Kempsville and Indian River roads.
The window of a car in the left-turn lane heading west onto Indian River bears a sticker that reads:
``MARRIAGE IS NOT A WORD
IT IS A SENTENCE''
The sticker, framed with the design of a California license plate, is attached to a white Ford Bronco.
- Kevin Armstrong
Wednesday, Jan. 31
5:15 p.m. - An office on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
A woman returns a phone call to a client and is disgusted by yet another brush with technology.
``I just got the voice mail to a car phone,'' she says to one of her male colleagues.
``How impressive,'' he replies, as other co-workers sarcastically ``ooh'' and ``ahh'' in the background.
``Nobody is that important,'' she adds. ``Nobody.''
Holly Wester ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. Kevin Elliott
This chilly, wet kitty was stranded about 40 feet up in a tree in
the 3800 block of Old Forge Road in Windsor Woods for about a week,
surviving hunger, rain, cold, even some faint snow flurries. On
Wednesday, Jan. 31, kind-hearted Maurice Lomba from Virginia Tree
Service volunteered to get the cat down - for free. According to
Lomba's boss, who calls himself an animal lover and didn't want to
be named, ``That was one happy cat to be out of that tree. He was
VERY happy.'' Neighbor Amy Post said no one knows who owns the cat
and neighbors had called the SPCA, Animal Control, Police and Fire
departments and some tree services trying to get it down, but no one
was able to help. Post said she and her roommate would keep the
kitty if no one claims it. Post said her daughter, Kristen, 10,
first saw the cat up in the tree Jan. 24.
by CNB