THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608080172
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 84 lines
Julia Abramov, a full head of dark brown hair framing her heart-shaped face, grabbed some square pieces of red tissue paper and stood next to Bennett Salasky.
``OK, you wrap this paper up in a ball,'' Julia explained to 92-year-old Salasky, who was sitting in a wheelchair. ``See how I'm doing it?''
Salasky, a retired optometrist, leaned forward and squinted.
``Oh, yeah!'' he exclaimed. ``That's nice!''
Julia deftly poked a thin green wire through the middle of the paper and scrunched it. She then quickly wrapped another wire around the base of the flower and voila! One perfect red rose.
Most 10-year-olds spend their summers in the typical fashion: swimming and playing with their friends.
But Julia Abramov is not like other 10-year-olds. While her peers are splashing each other in the neighborhood pool, Abramov volunteers at Kings Grant House. And not just for a couple of hours a week. Moscow-born Julia spends 20 hours a week at the assisted living facility, teaching the residents how to make flowers, jewelry and pouches. She also visits with the residents and helps push those in wheelchairs to and from their rooms.
Julia, a rising sixth-grader at Kempsville Middle School, can be considered the surrogate granddaughter of Kings Grant House.
``I taught her in Sunday school a year and a half ago and she expressed an interest in coming here with me,'' said Ruth Caplan, activities director. ``She's very creative and mature for her age. She is just wonderful.''
Spending that much time with the older set is not the norm for a child, but Julia doesn't see it that way.
``I don't have anything to do at home anymore,'' she said. Julia has been in the United States for 6 1/2 years and speaks without an accent. ``I just like helping people out. I like working with the young and the old.
``I want to be a pediatrician when I grow up.''
On this day Julia was joined by friends Ashley Evans, 11, and Jenny Turovskaya, 11. They had attended the Jewish Community Center camp in Norfolk this summer and learned how to make the flowers and jewelry. Eight residents sat around a long table laden with purple, red, turquoise, pink and yellow tissue paper, and the girls took turns cutting the paper into squares and helping the residents make their flowers.
Ringleader Julia moved among the residents like a seasoned teacher, bunching up a flower here, wrapping a wire around the base there. The girls had even bought a can of Country Garden potpourri spray, to give the flowers that just-picked smell.
Julia stopped when she reached former Navy flight instructor George Verdos.
``I wish I knew what you were doing,'' he said plaintively.
Patiently Julia repeated the process of bunching up the paper and poking a wire through. When the turquoise flower was properly bunched Julia presented it to Verdos with a flourish.
``There you go - you're done,'' she said, her dark brown eyes flashing behind her glasses.
Verdos chuckled.
``Well, I'll be darned,'' he replied. ``That's pretty nice.
``I stole flowers as a kid and now I'm making them,'' he added. ``I'll give them to my wife - it'll be very unusual.''
The Abramov family is a gifted one. Father Oleg is a painter who worked as an artist in Russia. Mother Marina takes care of billing and insurance at the Retina & Vitreous Center. A sister, Elana, is 5 and was born here. The family was brought to Virginia Beach through Temple Emanuel at the Oceanfront.
Julia has always been mature for her age and interested in artistic endeavors, said Marina Abramov. She learned a lot of that from her grandmother in Israel.
``She's been very independent for a long time,'' Marina said with a laugh. ``We were thinking she may go (to Kings Grant House) once a week and didn't know how long she would last. We're very surprised - and very proud of her.''
Ruth Caplan, who lives two blocks from the family, recalled a time when Julia brought over newspaper clippings from Memorial Day.
``She was so excited and told me that Memorial Day is her favorite holiday,'' Caplan said, tears smarting her eyes. ``She said that this is what we owe our freedom to - the veterans.
``I knew then that she sees the world through different eyes than most children.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Julia Abramov, 10, stops to ponder her next move while distributing
her homemade flowers to Kings Grant Retirement Home residents like
Alice Ressger, left, and Bennett Salasky.
Crinkled paper, some green wire and - voila! - one perfect rose. by CNB