One night at the old Hilltop Brewery, which I am very sad is no longer with us, a great band called Two Tone Cadillac was playing. There was a sassy crowd and the cops were kind enough to come in and do a head count so that no one would die in the event of a fire. There was dancing and good conversation at set breaks. I remember thinking that nightÉwhere are all these people during the rest of the week? Or during the day? Do they have barbeques and kegs? Forty-ounce Fridays? Do they watch films together and drink wine? Confess their love for Jon Stewart to each other? Go fishing? Where are these people, this band, when they arenÕt here? In other words, where are the coolest people around and how do I get to hang out with them?

Can you tell I was lonely for friends? I had just moved to Virginia Beach from Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is a hip, little town with a lot of freaky artist-types near the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. It has battles between natives and transfers, kind of like here. Even though it's small, you can bet on good music any night of the week, provided you have a range of tastes. There are waterfalls everywhere and killer rock climbing.

Before that, I lived in Philadelphia, which is dirty and rough but has an amazing community of all kinds of artists, as well as great abandoned warehouses to build fires in at night, and of course music anytime you want.

There is an adaptation period everyone goes through when they move to a new place. Depending on the demographics, some adaptation periods are longer than others. It helps to have a friend that is familiar with the area. But then, you're stuck with that friend's knowledge, or lack thereof. A sure bet is to consult the real expert of any city, the local music and entertainment rag, along with any other "alternative" publications that concentrate on the diversity of tastes and interests of the populace.

When I saw Two Tone Cadillac, I was set up for wondering, "Where are the cool people?" What makes someone cool? Well, whatever I think is cool. Cool is all kinds of things. If you like jacking your truck up to Jesus and putting on straight pipes, then you find those things cool. If you like going for java with your friends to talk about what so-and-so did at school/work and then go shopping, then you think that is cool. If you like to go to Bar-B-Qs and have a few beers and hang while your friends' band practices in the basement, then you think that is cool. Just because you may not find me cool and we may never hang out together doesn't mean one of us isn't cool. We are just different kinds. Cool can be an adjective, but I prefer it as a verb. Cool is what you do.

I think music, books, cocktails, kegs, impromptu soccer games, shooting pool, meeting strangers, poker, live music, creating music, talking politics, talking nonsense, dancing, camping, making out, etc, etc, and the third example in the previous paragraph are totally deadly. (That means cool in Ireland, and I'm bringing it to VA Beach!) I'm beginning to find little nooks and crannies where I can count on cool folks and good times, but I know there must be many, many more.

If you, dear reader, think you know of a certain cool place to hang, indoors or out, public or private, legal or considered trespassing, please email me at HYPERLINK "mailto:mtluvsplash@yahoo.com" mtluvsplash@yahoo.com. If you own or manage a cool spot and want to advertise in Splash, email me to set up an appointment. We'll get your ad in the paper and I'll feature you in my next ditty about where the cool places are!