Month: May 2019
Relics, Free, you can’t make this stuff up
“If you want your own slice of Cavalier athletics history, the University of Virginia will distribute bricks from the exterior of University Hall for free Thursday evening.”
ZACK WAJSGRAS/THE DAILY PROGRESS 5/15/2019
University Hall University Hall is an 8,000+ seat multi-purpose butt-ugly arena on the University of Virginia Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia. Constructed in 1965. Barry Parkhill and Ralph Sampson played basketball under the dome. B.B. King, Steve Goodman, R.E.M., Dionne Warwick, 10,000 Maniacs, The Pretenders, Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys played music here.
University Hall is being demolished.
Christian belief in the power of relics, the physical remains of a holy site or holy person, or objects with which they had contact, is as old as the faith itself and developed alongside it. Relics were more than mementos. The New Testament refers to the healing power of objects that were touched by Christ or his apostles.–Metropolitan Museum
(Or objects touched by Lucille)
The healing power of even half a brick can’t be discounted. And the price, FREE.
By 6:30 the line was 600 feet long. Initially the bricks were whole, clean, shrink wrapped on pallets but those were gone soon.
But these are good people, Charlottesvillians. They queue up, they wait patiently, they talk to their neighbors in line.
They do not riot or fight, they do not mob the one hapless guy driving the bobcat transporting masonry rubble to the faithful.
The people are civil, polite, kind, patient.
Ultimately they reach the head of the line.
Taking home a fragment of Ralph’s house, of the music hall, of the place where Presidents spoke. A fragment valuable because they believed, because they waited for it, because because.