| As the white Marine Corps school buses cross the mile-long State Route 170 bridge over the Broad River, about 15 minutes out from Parris Island, they tell the recruits to lower their heads. The reason, Marines tell each other, is so the newbies canât figure out how to escape from boot camp. Heads-down arrival makes that moment when a drill instructor like Sgt. Simone Dennis steps onto the bus screaming âGet Out! Get Out! Get Moving!â even more of a shock. As recruits stumble out, three more drill instructors bellow orders for the recruits to form up on some yellow footprints painted on the pavement, to keep heels together and feet 45 degrees apart and that there are only three things a recruit can say: âAye, sir; No sir and donât understand.â Then Staff Sgt. Evelyn Esquinal, in the role of âheavy hatâ (No. 2 on a typical team of four or five platoon drill instructors) has ârecruitsâ -- theyâre actually teachers from across Virginia and Tennessee -- half-running a few steps before sheâs yelling: âStop. Go Backâ. Then: âEyeballs!â meaning look at her. Then, suddenly: âMove!â And bare seconds later: âStop ⦠Go Back!â And again. And again. Again. At the same time, Dennis and fellow drill instructor Sgt. Matthew McGill run circles around the group hollering directions. âGet better, get better. Go! Go! Go!â Dennis shouts. Itâs disorienting, to say the least. Marine Corps boot camp hasnât changed much in 130 years., says Col. Bradley Ward, commander of Parris Islandâs Recruit Training Regiment.  Read more in the Sunday Main News section Preview of a Portsmouth history presentation being held for Black History Month: "When Dry Dock 1 at todayâs Norfolk Naval Shipyard was built in the 1830s, the labor necessary to complete it included enslaved stonecutters who were paid for their expertise. Hiring out skilled slaves caused controversy, but not for the reasons you might think." Read more in the Sunday Main News section Steven J. Kung was born to Taiwanese parents and grew up in Virginia Beach. Going to Providence Elementary School, kids teased him, calling him Chinese boy and King Kong; some even asked if he knew kung fu and mocked Asian accents. The teasing, Kung said, came from Asian stereotypes in TV and film, making him a lot more conscious of media representation â seeing people who look like him in the media. When he grew up, he became a director to change the way Asian people are portrayed. Since then, he has directed episodes of âFresh Off The Boatâ on ABC and Netflixâs âDear White People.â Most recently, Kung was chosen for ViacomCBSâ Directors Initiative, which is in its 18th year and helps directors from underrepresented groups develop their careers. Heâll meet with network and studio executives, shadow a director on multiple CBS productions, get branding and portfolio help and get support once the program ends in December. Read more in the Sunday Break section
It used to be cruel to break someoneâs heart â especially around Valentineâs Day. Now, itâs a popular request. Breakable chocolate hearts â molded candy shells that are broken to reveal hidden goodies â came into vogue in 2018 when Kim Kardashian asked A-list Chef Chris Ford to fashion more than 100 for a fragrance campaign. Theyâve been a social media sweetheart ever since. Local baking shops such as Wine and Cake Hobbies in Norfolk and online sites including Walmart and Amazon sell molds and small wooden mallets for DIYers. Williams Sonoma online carries Fordâs Butter Love & Hardwork hearts for $130.
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When you hear of a message in a bottle, perhaps the term calls to mind faraway images of someone stranded on a remote island or penning love letters centuries ago. But they turn up more often â and closer â than you might think. One environmental organization has come across dozens of them while cleaning up Americaâs rivers: everything from treasure maps to loneliness-fueled pleas to the universe, stuffed inside glass bottles or even Gatorade containers. Curious whatâs inside? Nowâs your chance to find out. Nauticus in downtown Norfolk recently launched the âMessage in a Bottleâ exhibition. It runs through April 24.
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The sons of the late Charles Conte Sr. turned the family name into an enduring brand by expanding on their fatherâs bicycle shop legacy. Charles Conte Sr. started his small neighborhood bicycle repair shop in 1957 in Newport News. A week and a half before Conte Sr. died in December 1992, two of his sons opened a Virginia Beach location. Today, Conteâs Bike Shopâs footprint includes stores in Chesapeake, Williamsburg, Newport News, Falls Church, Richmond, Arlington and Alexandria. There are also three in Washington, D.C., three in Southeastern Florida, one in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one in Marietta, Georgia. Other locations in Decatur, Georgia, and Lexington, Massachusetts, will open this year. The business reaches as far away as Italy, where Conteâs offers cycling vacation trips. Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section Family Ties - Terry Crews and son Isaiah Parade Picks - Love is in the Air Live Smart - What's your Eye-Q
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