Quote: With all this talk of karaoke and greasy restaurants, you might be wondering what the younger set does in Norfolk. Oddly enough, they're wondering, too.

There's a strict curfew in the town -- 11p.m. for anyone under 16, though they'll sometimes let you get away with midnight, if you know the policeperson who stops you. The tickets for this range from $25 to $75, depending on the number of offenses and how badly you cop an attitude (no pun intended). So what's a kid to do?

The answer for most kids in Norfolk is to either a) get in a car and cruise Norfolk Avenue until all hours (or until stopped, which frequently happens), or b) get gussied up and go play at the local 24-hour Wal-Mart.

Now, I know -- it seems strange to hang out at a chain store at midnight. But considering that by curfew, most of the "bad" kids are toasted and most of the "good" kids are bored, and that Wal-Mart has a giant toy section -- you'll realize there's a strange alchemy of fun hidden inside the grey and blue walls.

As a tourist, wandering through the aisles at midnight can be like taking your life into your own hands. Well-saturated mid-teens have this fascination with squirt guns, and you're likely to find a shower from a fellow patron easier than you would a shower-head in the hardware department. Employees are to the point where they don't really bother stopping the influx of kids -- just clean up after them.

If you're caught with a need for something (say, cold medicine or some other necessity), try across the street at the local Hy-Vee West instead. You'll avoid being a Wal-Mart casualty.

From journals O Home, Home on the Plains