DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9705300224

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: 20 QUESTIONS 

SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   87 lines

DAVID GRIFFEY CO-MANAGER, BELO GROCERY STORE

When David Griffey thinks back to his childhood, he often recalls his experiences in the great outdoors with his dad.

``He'd take me hunting with him,'' Griffey said recently. ``He'd find a field with one tree in it, and tell me to sit by that tree. I'd just sit there all day. Then, I finally figured out that he was off having fun while I was sitting in the field.''

Griffey grew up in the heart of Portsmouth. Hunting and fishing trips to Suffolk and to nearby Windsor were always something for a city kid to look forward to, Griffey said.

Eventually, he was allowed to join his dad on the hunt. And, although he has little time for it today, he still enjoys such things.

The family finally moved to Suffolk in 1973, just after Griffey was discharged from the Army. He was drafted near the end of the Vietnam Conflict. At the time, he said, he was uncertain what he was going to do, so he moved with his family and hasn't left since.

In addition to country living, Griffey also enjoys spending time around the pastime he probably would have pursued for a living - had he only been able to make a living at it.

``I have probably played at every military base in Hampton Roads - everything from country music to easy listening to rock and roll - everything but jazz,'' he said.

Griffey got involved with professional music after the army. His idea was to play music for life.

But most of the other musicians he played with, he said, wanted only to play part time.

He couldn't make a living that way.

So Griffey got back into what he knew best - grocery stores. Today, at Be-Lo No. 122 on East Constance Road, he provides his own kind of entertainment for neighborhood shoppers.

``I really enjoy the customers who shop here,'' Griffey said. ``I like to have fun with them. I have one lady who's about 60 years old, and, if I don't ask to see her ID to buy milk, she thinks something's wrong.''

He also likes to play Be-Lo trivia, a game of his own invention, using the store's public address system to get customer participation. Cashier Lavonda Mann participates by handling the customers with answers to his questions.

At Easter, he gave away Christmas candy for prizes. Recently, he's handed out Easter eggs.

In today's world, you've gotta laugh, Griffey said. People simply don't do it enough.

``The American public doesn't smile enough,'' he said. ``If I can bring a smile to somebody's face, at least I've accomplished something that day.''

Birthdate/hometown: Born in Portsmouth on Dec. 5, 1950

What brought you here? My mother and father moved to Suffolk in 1973.

Fondest childhood memory: My father taking me hunting and fishing.

Marital status/children: Happily divorced/four girls:Amber, 20, Amy, 15, Melissa, 8, Megan, 6

Pets: Three dogs and a cat

First job/worst job: Bag boy at Food Town/roofer

Occupation: Co-manager at Be-Lo Foods No. 122, East Constance Road

If you had a choice, what other job would you choose? Musician, guitarist

What's your favorite hangout? 15th Street Pier - Ocean Eddie's

Favorite night out on the town: Saturday night at the Comedy Club of Virginia Beach or Ocean Eddie's

Favorite food/drink: All grilled foods/Pepsi

Favorite movies/TV show: Gone With the Wind/Seinfield and David Letterman

Book you wish everyone would read: ``Cruel Shoes'' by Steve Martin

Ideal vacation: Sitting on the beach in the Bahamas with raggedy shorts, rundown shoes and sipping a pina colada

I can't resist: Vacationing in Atlantic City

If you won the lottery, what would you do/buy? I would travel and buy myself a recording studio.

Most embarrassing moment: Falling in the mud - facedown - at the Boathouse while Harbor Park was being built!

Few people know that I: Played professionally in a band

What is the best advice you've been given and by whom? ``Never say anything about somebody that you would not say to their face.'' The advice was given by my father.

What's the best thing about yourself? Sense of humor

If you could trade places with anyone in the world, who would you be and why? Jimmy Buffet because of his laid-back style of life.

What achievements are you most proud of? Being a self-taught musician.

Something you wish to say but haven't: A doughnut without a hole is not a doughnut. It's a strudel. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II

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