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Headline Surfer photos by Sera Frederick / Young partiers had no worries about drinking in public during Saturday's Crawfish & More Festival on Main Street in Daytona Beach. The cops were looking the other way.

DAYTONA BEACH -- A young group of people were trying to get a middle-aged man's macaw to drink some beer. It was party central Saturday night on Main Street with hundreds enjoying themselves and they didn't have to stay inside the bars to enjoy the cold brew, many drinking from large plastic see-through pitchers. After all, it was the eighth-annual "Crawfish & More Festival."

New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Jim Hathaway, at far left, has a new supporter in his campaign for Volusia County Council: Former Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce President Robert Lott, who, along with his wife, received bankruptcy protection, having owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Longtime City Commissioner Jim Hathaway and Robert Lott were polar opposites when it came to approval for the $16 million Hampton Inn.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The second annual Lester C. Weimer Memorial “Birdies for Babies” golf tournament benefiting the March of Dimes takes place on Saturday at Hidden Lakes Golf Club, 35 Fairgreen Ave. All proceeds go to the March of Dimes.

EDGEWATER -- A 24-year-old Edgewater woman is reported missing and police are asking the public's help in locating her.

Christine Lavoie and her mother were arguing in their home 6 p.m. Tuesday when the daughter ran from the residence after threatening to commit suicifde, police said.

"Christine has not been heard from since and her whereabouts are unknown at this time," Edgewater police said today in a press release.

 Christine Lavoie is described as a white, 5 feet 4 and 130 pounds. She has brown eyes, long straight dirty-blonde hair, facial piercings and a tattoo of “Bella Vita” on her right forearm. She was wearing a white T-shirt and denim capris.  

Peter Mallory is a retired co-publisher and founder of NSBNews.net, now under the umbrella trademark Headline Surfer (HeadlineSurfer.com). You can read his award-winning blog segments for "The Right Side," by clicking here where he has an entire blog listing, along with details of his 2011 Florida Press Club blog award. When he writes new installments, they will be posted here.

Life was much simpler back in 1979 when Donna Summer was queen of the pop charts. The music helped define the 1970s, the decade of mistrust, betrayal and failure.

And as much as that decade said "Disco Sucks!" it was the music that moved us. It was the beat that helped us endure and transition to a new decade of living large and enjoying the good times: the Big 80s.

No singer transcended the music of the disco era better than Donna Summer. And if Disco sucked, it was a reflection of our leaders who sucked: Nixon, Ford and Carter. 

I was a wide-eyed naive 17-year-old begging, hoping to put high school behind me as fast as possible for college and the beginning of my adult life with endless possibilities.