Those of us with wheels often drove the short distance to an amusement park at Virginia Beach.  I only went once because they pissed me off.  I had just purchased my first brand new car–a 1958 Chevy Del Ray–bottom of the line, six-cylinder, straight stick, AM radio, cream over light green.  Worst car I ever owned…had flat cams.  I drove it to the  amusement park and when I left I noticed some staffer had placed an advertisement bumper sticker on it.  Not on the bumper but rather on the back of the trunk lid–right on the paint.  Grrrrrrr.

I’m told now that East Main Street has been cleaned up.  A program known as the Community Redevelopment Authority captures all the ad valorem taxes from both the city and county and retains those monies within a designated geographical area.  That money is then used to clean up blight.  The problem with that comes with board members having their own sacred cows coming up with their own definition of the word “blight.”

I might note here that I was working in radio concurrently with my duties at NATO and it became necessary for me to learn the local lingo.  The radio market was huge taking in the entire Tidewater area of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News, Virginia. I had to pronouce the names like a local.  Portsmouth, for example, is pronounced Ports-muth.  Newport News is pronounced New-pert News with little emphasis on the pert.  Norfolk is pronounced Nor-fuk.  At the radio station I was made to memorize a college cheer so I would learn the correct pronunciation:  “We’re the girls from Nor-fuk U.  Nor-fuk U.  Nor-fuk U.  We don’t smoke. We don’t chew.  Nor-fuk U.”

Those days are long behind me now and there is a puzzling aspect to it all.  It all began at NAS Columbus.  That has been decommissioned.  Then Class A Yeoman School, Bainbridge, Md.  That has been moved.    Then NAS Cecil Field.  That has been decommissioned.   Then USS Glacier.  That’s in mothballs scheduled to be scrapped.  Then NATO HQ in Norfolk.  That’s been moved to Brussels, Belgium.  I don’t think my having been billeted at those venues had anything to do with their demise or removal.  Maybe it had something to do with those two days I went AWOL but never got caught.  Only King Neptune and I know about it and he is unforgiving.  Perhaps my punishment is still coming.  Maybe this is it.