THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607230120
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 81 lines
Thanks to the Samaritans
I would like to thank a group of people who quickly gathered July 1 to my cries of ``help.''
And just as quickly as they gathered, these good Samaritans dispersed without my knowing who they were. Although I thanked them as a group for being there when I needed them, I wish that I had the opportunity to know their names so that I could thank each one individually.
Tootsie, my 11 1/2-year-old Boston terrier, takes great delight in chasing pigeons from the retaining wall around the Hague. But this day she literally went too far and fell in - at low tide, to boot. I was unable to reach her, so I lowered myself in the water to grab her. I must have looked like ``Flywoman,'' hanging onto the bulkhead with my hands, trying to keep my feet against the wall to create a lap on which Tootsie could lie while I was trying to figure out what to do to get both of us back on land. ``Help'' was the first thing that came to mind - and it worked, thank goodness.
Shame on me for not having Tootsie on a leash. But thank you, good Samaritans, a million times over.
Stephanie DiBelardino
Fairfax Avenue Some suggestions
Suggestions for solutions to Norfolk's quest for additional tax revenue in downtown Norfolk:
Put an off-track betting parlor with a plush interior in MacArthur Mall. The Chesapeake betting parlor has hundreds there per day and is taking in thousands of dollars. If the parlor cannot be built at MacArthur Mall, build it in the mostly vacant Selden Arcade building on Plume Street.
The city should buy the now vacant former shipyard-repair land at the end of Colley Avenue on the Elizabeth River and build a passenger terminal for cruise line passenger companies and anchor a cruise line for worldwide travel.
The city should seek out an international company to build a steel plant near Norfolk's International Terminal for exporting steel and supplying the steel needs of NNSD Company, the Ford Motor Company, the Navy, Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and area ship repair yards. There are probably more steel ships here than any other place in the world.
Bruce H. Banks
Pecan Point Road A thought on Nauticus
Concerning Nauticus and downtown Norfolk, perhaps what ought to be done is to fill Nauticus with sea water and stock it with some former and present city managers, mayors, their aides and selected City Council members and use them as display specimens. The place seems to be a humongous exercise in futility when it comes to drawing the admission-paying public as does the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach.
As a follow up, we could use the coming MacArthur project for a new annex to Nauticus with a large pool filled with albino hippopotamuses attired in pink frocks that will dance every 30 minutes to music from the movie ``Fantasia'' - far superior to harbor seals.
Our area of Virginia is experiencing such an explosion of museums, shopping centers, banks, gasoline stations and other touristy attractions that it also seems we should at all costs combine the five cities here into one and charge $150 per head at all ports and points of entry and then divide it equally among all of these places.
Richard M. Capen
Bradford Avenue In praise of Nauticus
Congratulations to the city of Norfolk for creating Nauticus, a world-class exhibit.
In this high-tech era it is so very difficult to capture the minds and spark the imagination of youth. Nauticus does this through unique interactive exhibits. Using the arcade theme as a tool for education and exploration, it reaches all age groups.
Virginia has so many great museums and historic sites, all vying for the visitors' limited time and attention. In Nauticus you have found your niche, a ``must see'' exhibit that can continue to evolve and carry Norfolk into the 21st century.
Lewis K. Eisenberg
Director, Whale Center of the Pacific
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii by CNB