Living in a Military town from a local's perspective

Living in Virginia Beach for as long as memory holds makes me a local. So does the fact that my Dad was a local. There are streets in Hampton Roads that bare my family name. My  name is Van Patten it is engraved on the side of the first "skyscraper" in Virginia Beach. All of this makes the six degrees of Margaret of Va Beach some fun to play. Just when you think you know all about me I pull something else out of my hat. This is not much about the military you say. Well here it goes, my Dad was in the military. In fact he was an Air Force pilot. He also had four children while stationed in various countries in Europe. Now my brother, the oldest in the clan ,can not claim that connection to Europe. Luckier still he can claim he went to junior high and part of high school in Europe. That led him to his brief career in the Army and back to Germany. That Six degrees connects all the Van Patten's to the military and to Virginia Beach. I am the only Van Patten that still resides here in the largest resort city in the world. I settled here with Jon Derrick.

Jon is just some guy I met in a bar. He grew on me. We had lots in common, he was from a military family.
His Dad was a Navy pilot.A former Commander of the world renowned Red Ripper's.Funny thing is Jon was also from the same kind of family I was from; he had four sisters (all older) and was the youngest. I too, came from five and was the amongst the youngest in a military family. From the start we had things that drew us together. Now we are both locals. We stayed put in this military town.We chose to raise a family here, to put down roots.  Jon and I just celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. We have five kids. I wear it proudly (or maybe with a hint of sarcasm) on my license plate; YS5KDS. I was tired of the questions, are they ALL yours?? Must be why my Mom had her kids in sets! I digress, sorry. We chose this military town as the place to grow these wild children.

Not too long ago...our kids on vacation

This is now...

Our choice to stay put here with old friends and familiar places. Near the ocean and the surf ( haha). At the very least a quick trip to Hatteras for surf. We built a house in Little Neck. When I was in junior high it was referred to as Kings Grant or The Grunt. Now we fancy ourselves fancy and refer to the area as Little Neck. It is district ed with some of the best schools in Virginia Beach. This is were we are raising those crazy kids. It is also one of the most popular neighborhoods for families moving to the area with the Military.
Little Neck is a community not to unlike Stepford, just kidding. There is sometimes the sense that everyone knows it all about the neighbors. My first years in the hood I was super busy with our four oldest, doing preschool and eventually Kindergarten. I was always overwhelmed with the little guys. There was not much time to form any friendships.When they all got into Kingston we had been in Little Neck for 8 years. I was ready for half a day to my self. I had gotten involved with the PTA and was making all kinds of friends, many were military families. One military family that seemed to really stick for us was the Crabbs.


Leslie was kind and out going and liked connecting people. She was always willing to lend a hand. Her oldest was in class and in Cub Scouts (Leslie was the leader) with David. Through scouts we began camping with a group of her neighbors and friends. Before long we were a tight knit bunch. Enjoying our time together as adults as well as our kids playing and growing together. With every friendships you make with
a military family  a piece of you will eventually move on.

This was the case with Leslie, Tom, Andrew, and Reilly Crabbs. They moved on to Key West but not with
out taking a piece of Virginia Beach with them. Each summer, usually when Tom is underway, Leslie packs up her kids and begins a trek to visit the many friends and family all over the country. It is an adventure that

A recent visit with Leslie

makes us locals dizzy..Our roots are like a Tap root on a dandelion , deep, straight down and stubborn.  The military families, like the Crabbs, have deep roots that spread like a giant Oak tree, far and wide. Touching many as they tour the USA in the Honda van. It is a real friendship you form that allows you to come and go in each others lives,  picking up right were you left off. It is a game six degrees of Margaret VP Derrick here in my home town. I have been lucky and so has my family to have been touched by a favorite military family, the Crabbs'. It is a unique family like this who can leave that imprint as they blow in and out of town like a hurricane force wind. It is always exciting. I know for one we are hoping that even though this trip is just a stop on the road to the west coast that the Leslie will stay true to her gypsy summers and make the trip back here to nurture the seeds of friendship.

Leslie enjoys a "Kathi's" Margarita on the deck and catching up with the girls.