About a month ago, my wife had a work event in Central Virginia, so we used it as enough of a reason to visit Charlottesville. I went to UVA and have tons of fond memories of my time there, and I really enjoyed the city itself, so I often went back. For myriad reasons, I hadn’t been back since a quick jaunt for the Messiah Sing-In in 2017. [Yes, this Jew loves that event. It’s not the music itself, but the event is magical. I joined virtually one year, and I’ll be back at some point.] As we met in 2019, my wife had never been to Charlottesville. We had a lovely time – wandering the city market and Downtown Mall, seeing the various places I lived, and eating very, very well (see this new WEDS post for more). I had to work hard not to fall into too much nostalgia while touring Grounds; our options were to stop at each place for 5 minutes (quick tour) or 5 hours (wave of memories and stories). I spared her that fate.
I say that all as context for what happened this past week, when I went back for a day. She had another work event in the area, and I had the day with the government still shut down. I dropped her off at the event, and I continued to the Hook. While our weekend was broad, seeing a lot of things, this visit was narrow. I just wanted to spend the day on the Lawn. I was definitely planning to relive some memories and simply return to a place, to find a feeling, of familiarity and comfort. Fair warning, that’s what’s ahead. Keep reading at your own peril.
The Lawn remains a special place for me. It’s part of what sealed the deal when I toured UVA as a high schooler and it’s where I graduated. More than that, many of my favorite memories from college took place there, some big, some small. I tapped into a smaller one to start.
I was in the brass quintet my second and third years. That’s important because we rehearsed on Wednesday afternoons, but my class schedule was such that I was finished by lunchtime on Wednesdays, so I had two options: go home after lunch and trek back to Old Cabell for rehearsal; or I could stay on Grounds. I chose the latter. Most Wednesdays, I went to this general spot at the south end of the Lawn with a frisbee and whatever work I had to do. I would read until someone—often a friend but sometimes a stranger—would stop by to talk or toss a ‘bee around. It was Election Day, which meant no classes, so there weren’t too many folks out, but there was a steady trickle of people. No one asked about the frisbee, and I know very people in town anymore, but I could enjoy the weather and read my book.
And I could take this picture once again! The nice thing about being here week after week is that I could try a little project. I took something very much like this picture every week for months on end. After this goes up, I’ll try to find them and see if I can stitch them together or do something fun with them.
And this picture!
I guess it’s kinda the same picture. Selfies were a lot tougher with the digital camera I had in college. This sets up the next part, though, when I got lunch. While in line at Take It Away, a current student asked about my shirt. His exact words were, “I love your shirt, but I feel like I’m missing some context.” Perhaps a little overexcitedly, I turned around to show him the back, which as “PEP BAND” in the middle of the big V, per UVA club tradition. (Yes, scattered around the shirt are the other words that are part of TA-WVFCI/OP(?)MPB&CSR,U!!!) I started to tell him a little about the Virginia Pep Band, including about that guy with the trumpet, but my sandwich was ready, and the place was crowded. I couldn’t regale him with a few hours of Pep Band stories. I was tickled (figuratively) when an older woman recognized my Pep Band hat on our previous trip, but I understand why the current students just don’t know. Maybe he (and many others!) will go watch the new Pep Banned documentary and learn a bit.
Turning away from the incredibly deep and branching Pep Band memory hole, I went back to the Lawn with my sandwich as well as a bag of bread ends and a little container of house dressing. Seriously, bread ends and house dressing are a great afternoon snack, and they go perfectly with hanging out on the Rotunda steps for a while.
I went back to Old Cabell and walked around inside, reliving memories of meeting a few friends during wind ensemble tryouts, of the bagpipe protest, of just hanging around with other music nerds. I think the couch near the practice rooms is the same uncomfortable one as when I was a student.
And then, it was time to pick up my wife as her day came to a close. I’ll finish this one with just one Lawn memory. From evening frolf to events or just daily wandering with friends, it has always been a comfortable place, but this one moment stands out clearly. I was walking back from my job at the hospital, taking the path that comes out near the statue of George Washington. It was about to storm, but it hadn’t broken yet. The clouds were a solid blanket over the Lawn, and the air was warm. With the impending storm, no one was out. I had it all to myself. A good friend and I send pictures back and forth of storm clouds, an homage to this bit from Sports Night. Every time, this is what I think of. I had the Lawn all to myself, under a warm blanket of clouds and comfortably boxed in by the arcades on either side. I felt such a sense of belonging to that place, and thinking on it as I write this, I still do. I’m grateful to have caught a glimpse of that again this week.
Comments
Post a Comment