THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701290093
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By Staff writers Eric Feber and Susan Smith
LENGTH: 79 lines
A Mrs. Anita Walker was musing the other day if there's a facility, place or person willing to help disabled or chronically ill people sell their artistic creations.
``When I was living in Texas, I saw that there were these store chains that allowed people with artistic talent to sell their items to help defray their medical expenses,'' she said. ``It would be nice if there was such a place here in Chesapeake or in the area.''
Walker, who lives close to the Virginia Home for Adults on Border Road, knows of a woman living at the facility who has an uncanny knack for drawing cartoon characters on T-shirts, sweat shirts and other items.
``She has diabetes. So if she could sell some of her works, it would allow her to be a little more independent and help pay for some of her expensive blood tests and treatments,'' Walker said.
She said there's more than likely other talented disabled or elderly shut-ins.
``If those who have any kind of art talent could create and sell their items,'' she said, ``it would help generate a little income for them.''
Kind of makes sense.
So, if anyone out there knows of a person or place where these people could sell their artistic wares, please call the Virginia Home for Adults at 545-6219. Once hell, now heaven
One of Town Talk's spies overheard several Oscar F. Smith High School students rejoicing that there was a short school work schedule and, for some, only half days of school this past week.
``What, no school again?'' a parent asked.
``Oh, we have school, but we don't really have classes,'' explained one student. ``Because it's only exam week.''
Only exam week?
It was once an intense, stay-up-all-night-hair-pulling time to reread the entire book, cram, work all the math problems and decipher and memorize long-forgotten notes.
Now exam week is celebrated because it provides a semi-vacation.
Have exams gotten easier? Having a head for books
Rebecca C.W. Adams, principal of Great Bridge Intermediate School, thinks reading is such an important component in the lives of her students that she's participated in many stunts to get them motivated to read.
Every year she challenges her students to read a set total of books. If they achieve the goal, then Adams will do or perform whatever stunt agreed upon.
In the past, she's read to her students from a roof, while sitting in a tree, while walking on stilts and while sitting over a flag pole.
This time Adams stood on her head.
``This year we decided to do something indoors since many of the other things we've done were at the mercy of cold or rainy weather,'' Adams said.
Naturally the students met the challenge of reading at least 4,000 books.
``They actually read 5,073 books,'' she said. ``I up the ante every year and they always seem to come through. That's what we want to foster, that love of reading.''
On Jan. 10, Adams set up a little space at the school's front hall, near the aquarium, and began her topsy-turvy bouts of reading. She stood on her head for brief periods of time from 8:15 a.m. until 12:45 p.m.
``You had to come down regularly in order to get the blood rushing around the right way,'' she said. ``I usually stood on my head for five-minute intervals.''
Adams read selections from the poetry book ``Ride Upon the Breeze'' to small groups of students. When there weren't any students around, she still stood on her head and read Gen. Colin Powell's autobiography for herself.
``Many of the children asked me when I learned to stand on my head,'' Adams said. ``I told them I learned when I was a child and then emphasized that adults carry many, many things learned as a child over into adulthood that can help them in their lives. One of those things is reading.''
Adams is already fielding suggestions of what she should do next year to encourage reading.
``I got a couple of ideas from my students,'' she said. ``But I will NOT bungee jump.''