THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610050074
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 111 lines
Monday, Sept. 23
8:30 p.m. - Commonwealth College, Virginia Beach Campus.
The new receptionist is beginning her second week on the job - right in the middle of registration for the new semester and final exams. She's handling the chaos just fine until one of the admissions counselors rushes up and asks frantically, ``Quick - do you have a buzz?''
The new hire considers carefully and then replies: ``Not now. But I think I'll probably have a glass of wine when I get home tonight.''
The counselor does a double take, then bursts out laughing.
``Buzz'' is the name of the school's newspaper.
- Kay Reynolds
Friday, Sept. 27
11:30 a.m. - Central Library.
A woman of about 16 sits on a bench near the meeting rooms. A very young toddler, immaculately dressed and well-nourished, stands in front of her, crying. Each time the child shrieks, the woman makes a fist, punches her softly in the mouth and tells her to shut up. Finally, the crying stops and the little one starts to wander off.
``I told you not to do that,'' the woman yells, then grabs the baby's hair and yanks her back. Again the child walks away, again the mother pulls her back, by the hair.
When the child cries out, the young woman shoves her face down into a stroller. The child raises her head and lets out another shriek. The woman pushes the child's face into the stroller and holds it there, then looks around and smiles at the handful of library patrons who are witnessing the scene.
- Jo-Ann Clegg
7:30 p.m. - Video City on Bonney Road.
There's a ``going out of business'' sign on the door of a small neighborhood video rental shop.
Inside, the brightly lighted store is staffed by a woman and two girls.
``Are you still renting videos?'' a customer asks the woman behind the counter.
``No, we're going out of business and selling the videos,'' the woman answers.
``You guys just get tired of the rat race or what?'' asks the customer.
``No,'' says the woman, with a look of disgust. ``We just can't compete with the big stores anymore.''
- Lori A. Denney
24th Street and Oceanfront.
A large crowd of Neptune Festival-goers surrounding the stage where the Martians have finished a
rousing performance is now growing impatient waiting for the next group, Super Drag, to arrive.
Virginia Beach police won't let the show go on until they've moved the crowd back 10 feet and put up a barricade.
Apparently, Super Drag, with their radio hit ``Who Sucked Out the Feeling?'' is more in need of protection from fans than groups that performed earlier on the festival stage.
Several lucky fans caught a glimpse of band members warming up back stage earlier, but that is as close as they got. The crowd, wearied by the ``9 p.m.'' performance's delay, begins yelling ``Super late, super late.'' Then people begin throwing things.
A stagehand comes out to unplug equipment and a staff person from the radio station sponsoring the concert comes out to announce its cancellation. More boos follow, but the crowd gives up and finally leaves, knowing it is too late to walk 11 blocks south to the 13th Street stage and catch the Hollow Bodies concert there.
- Barbara Price
Sunday, Sept. 29
5:30 p.m. - The Boardwalk.
``Ith yur thung pierthed?'' a young woman asks a young man standing at one of the arts and crafts booths at the Neptune Festival.
``Yeth,'' he responds.
``Mine, thu,'' she answers.
- Melinda Forbes
6:30 p.m. - Francis Land House.
The Bayside High School Madrigals are performing the be-bop tunes of the 1950s in celebration of life at the first annual Lights of Life Celebration for the survivors of breast cancer and their families. This event is being sponsored by the Health Department in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.
As the young singers perform, the spectators are encouraged to clap their hands and rock in their seats to the beat of the music.
The evening is filled with singing, poetry and accounts of personal experiences. The group of men, women and children have mixed emotions - tears, smiles and laughter can be seen on the many faces.
The Ribbon of Love - a mile-long pink ribbon - donated by the Family Channel, is signed by those touched by breast cancer and will be presented to Mayor Meyera Oberndorf at the end of October.
At dusk, the Candles of Life are lighted and tiny flames flicker in the night sky.
- Patty Jenkins
Monday, Sept. 30
4 a.m. - Chesapeake Beach.
Fisherman Robert Hollowell realizes that not only does he have one of the biggest catches of the season in his nets, but several dolphins as well.
Hollowell, the last of the seine fishermen along Virginia Beach's Chesapeake Bay waterfront, is about to land 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of spot. But the huge nets he and his workers are hauling in have encircled four dolphins that are feeding on the school of fish.
At 6:30 a.m., the crew cuts a gaping hole in the nets and the sated dolphins swim free. The fishermen lose about half the fish they've caught, but there was no other choice. ``We wouldn't do a thing in the world to hurt one of them,'' Hollowell says as as one of the other seiners begins mending the net.
- Paul Clancy by CNB