THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504070158
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Close Up
SOURCE: Rebecca A. Myers
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
Adam Goldblatt is a wanted man.
His crime?
``Bodily abuse with deadly cholesterol,'' said Goldblatt, chairman of the Portsmouth Cardiac Arrest, an annual fund-raiser of the American Heart Association.
Goldblatt has until April 18 to come up with the $1,000 bail that will keep him from going to the slammer. Otherwise the Commerce Bank assistant vice president is doomed to spend 2 1/2 hours in a makeshift jail with 54 other volunteers.
``I'll probably be turning myself in because I have to get there early anyway,'' said Goldblatt of the Cardiac Arrest, to be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. April 18 at Maryview Medical Center.
Twenty-two of Portsmouth's most prominent people are on the ``Most Wanted'' list, which means they each have to raise $1,000 bails; 15 are ``felons'' with $500 bails; while 18 are guilty of ``misdemeanors'' with bails of $250.
Dr. James LaRocque, a Portsmouth endocrinologist, has to raise $250 for ``driving under the influence of too much thyroid hormone.''
Marty Mathews, finance manager with Tower Auto Mall, is wanted for ``a premeditated assault of the heart with excessive junk food.'' His bail is $1,000.
``Half of the `Most Wanted' arrestees will have themselves picked up by the Sheriff's Office, and the other half will turn themselves in,'' said Goldblatt.
Organizers hope to raise $30,000 from the fund-raiser.
``As of two weeks ago, we had more committed arrestees than other cities like Virginia Beach and Norfolk,'' said Goldblatt. ``Also, we've got $38,000 in committed dollars from the arrestees, and we only need $30,000 to reach our goal, so we should reach it.''
Goldblatt, 35, son of the late Abe Goldblatt, sports writer with The Virginian-Pilot from 1931 until his death last November, has a special reason for volunteering with the American Heart Association.
``My father died of heart complications after bypass surgery,'' explained Goldblatt, ``so that was certainly my motivation for this (Cardiac Arrest) this year.''
Last year, Goldblatt raised a $1,000 bail as an arrestee. This is his second year with the event.
``They asked me to chair this year, and I was happy to do it. It kind of runs itself. It's pretty easy,'' he said.
Goldblatt has been with Commerce Bank since 1986. He received a degree in financial management from Old Dominion University in 1982 and is a 1978 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School.
In his early years, Goldblatt was a star baseball player. At 15, he played second base on an Olive Branch Senior League All-Star team that almost went to the Little League World Series.
``We won 14 straight games, then we lost to Tampa Bay, Fla., which was one game away from going to the World Series,'' said Goldblatt, who served as master of ceremonies Friday at the 40-year reunion of Olive Branch Little League.
``Once a week, I probably think about it,'' he conceded.
Goldblatt attended ODU from 1978 to 1982 on a four-year baseball scholarship. As a sophomore, he established a record for career doubles (27). In his junior year, he set records in: most runs scored (96), most runs batted in (77) and most walks (85), all cumulative marks.
``Would like to have played longer,'' he said, ``but wasn't good enough!
``I went on a four-year ride that paid for my school . . . and I'm giving them back that money in donations right now!''
Name: Adam J. Goldblatt
Nickname: None
Neighborhood: Wellington (Western Branch)
Number of years in Portsmouth: Lived in Portsmouth for 34 years until moving to Western Branch in 1994
Birthplace: Portsmouth
Birthdate: 2-7-60
Occupation: Assistant vice president/commercial loan officer, Commerce Bank
What other job than your own would you like? Coaching baseball on the high school or college level
Marital status: Married
Children: Two children: Sarah, 4, and Ingrid, 4 months
Fondest childhood memory: Being a part of a baseball team at age 15 (Olive Branch Senior Little League) that won 14 straight games in July and August 1975 and traveling to Bristol, Va., and Louisville, Ky., to become the South Regional Champions. No other Senior Little League in Tidewater has done this.
First concert: Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977 at Lawrence Stadium
What song or book title best describes your life? ``Glory Days'' by Bruce Springsteen
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? A condo for my mom
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? I would like to be Michael Jordan for one day to see how it would feel to have more athletic ability, money and popularity than any other athlete alive today.
Biggest accomplishment: Getting a degree in financial management and having a successful marriage with two great kids
Most embarrassing moment: During my adolescent years, my mom would always have my sister and me paged at whatever department store we were shopping. It would not have been so embarrassing if my sister's name was not ``Eve.''
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Develop more patience
Perfect way to spend the day: First half of the day playing my favorite golf course, followed by the other half with my family without any interruptions
I can't resist: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: Scale O'De Whale
Favorite Portsmouth hangout: The Commodore
Biggest problem facing Portsmouth: Its perceived image
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
Increase economic development
More funding for education
Harmony among its citizens
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about Portsmouth? It's the place I still call ``home.'' MEMO: For a complete list of the 1995 Portsmouth Cardiac Arrestees and their
bails, see page 7.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Adam Goldblatt
by CNB