Luke Church

Getting pumped for the Wordplay competition this evening at the Omni Hotel downtown . . . pumped is the best way to prepare, the questions are so inventive, there is really no way to study for them, either you are immersed in pop culture and history and know it . . . or you don’t.  The evening festivities, which begin at 7 PM, are to benefit Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle . . . click to see the great work they do and click HERE to take a sample Wordplay quiz.

I had a wonderful lunch with my daughter, Allison, today while her mother spent some time at UVA West Complex.  The doctors at the UVA Cancer Center are heroes.  Allison and I planned our trip to Richmond Thursday for a special press party for the performance of  ”Wicked” at the Landmark Theater.  The last time I was a the Landmark Theater  was Sunday November 1, 1970 when it was still called The Mosque.  I was there for my first rock concert . . . I  hitchhiked from Hopewell to see Jethro Tull . . . I was 14 years old.

That was also the age at which I was on my second reading of Lord of the Rings.  The photo is from Allison’s trip to England last year, it is the pub where C. S. Lewis, his brother W. H. Lewis, Charles Williams, J. R. R. Tolkien and others gathered every Tuesday night from 1939-1969 to drink beer and discuss the books they were writing.  It was in the back room of that pub that ears first heard the manuscsripts of such classics as Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

My wife and I went bike riding this weekend. She hasn’t been on a bike in years and has a new Schwinn 7 to get back into riding.  I, on the other hand, need desperately to train for the MS Society Tour de Vine coming up in June.  I participated in fund raising last year, but could not ride because of a broken collar bone I sustained in a motorcycle accident. I still have a lot of pain in the shoulder, but am gingerly trying to do some training rides so I can participate, at least for the 25 mile loop, this year. Maybe with some Aleve and determination I can get back on the road and check out the course I missed last year for the Tour.

In the meantime, check out our somewhat bare team website and, if you are moved to do so, make a donation for the ride . . .

3WV’s Phat Bottom Riders

This is my Babe of the Day . . . really the Babe of My Life, my wife Susan. We will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary in May. Last May, 2009, we renewed our marriage vows with our friend Kirk, in the Unitarian Church where he performed the original ceremony.
My wife is a Babe because she is a self-assured woman, in a managment position where she supervises both men and women, who respect her for her intelligence and strength.
Susan and I have been together for 20 years. We have a son, from her first marriage, who I adopted at his request, he wanted my last name, too.
I raised my son to respect women, the way I respect his mother. I had the conversation with him on why he should never objectify women as sex objects.
I also have two daughters, in their 20s, who I adore. Both are artists in their own right, a photographer and a writer. My eldest is also a motorcyle rider, taking her enduro bike on forest trails and camping. The younger one goes on cross country train adventures. They are self-possessed women who do not need to debase themselves for shallow external approval.
So, the next time you see a woman portrayed as a “Babe”, think about what a real woman would say about your definition of the term.

I had the opportunity to be an extra in a film shoot for the movie House Hunting. Check out the photos!
And for info on the film production company and check out the video of the make up test click here.