DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710150106

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: Jen Mystkowski 

                                            LENGTH:   29 lines

CITY'S POPULAR GATHERING PLACE PROVIDES A PLEASANT DISTRACTION

HE'S SQUINTING. The flecks of light ricocheting off of the water are far morecalming than irritating.

``Maybe twice a week I come down here, to get a beer or wait for the ferry,'' said Jon Marson, a five-year Portsmouth resident.

``I come from Michigan, and they don't have anything like this out there.''

If Portside closes permanently, Marson said he would likely spend more of his free time in Norfolk. But not at Waterside.

``It's not the same,'' he said. ``At Waterside everything's closed in. There's a dead, hollow sound in the atmosphere.''

Portside's laid-back surroundings and open-air hospitality draw customers to Portsmouth from all around Hampton Roads.

``A lot of my friends come down here for lunch or just to hang out,'' Marson said. ``The other night there was this old man sitting over there playing his guitar - some old Drifters music. He just decided to sit down and play. It was nice.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JEN MYSTKOWSKI

Jon Marson visits Portside twice a week. He says he prefers the

laid-back atmosphere to Norfolk's Waterside.

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