Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Weekend Wrap Up


Overall, the day was pretty nice. I did at the last minute opt for attending the Lutheran service after dropping my mother off at the Catholic Church. I had almost relented, but as I walked her into the church to await my sister and her husband, the Knights of Columbus were handing out literature. The Knights, who sat with their thumbs up their ass when it came to demanding the Church hierarchy clean house of bishops and cardinals who sheltered sexual predators preying on children and youths – and given the Knights’ vast wealth, believe me, the Pope would listen – have been very supportive of anti-gay initiatives around the country, including here in Virginia. That was all I had to see and I bit my tongue and walked out and down the street to St. Mark’s Lutheran. There, I enjoyed a lovely service in a parish that is gay accepting/affirming. Moreover, the parish members were very friendly and strongly encouraged me to attend again the next time I visit Charlottesville. As an added bonus, a VERY cute 1st year UVA student walked back towards the grounds with me, chatting along the way!!

Easter dinner at my sister’s was nice – as it always is – and my nephew who is a 1st year student at UVA provided merriment and crazy narratives of student life (he lives in a dorm on the university grounds, so what my sister doesn’t know cannot upset her). My nephew is quite a cutie and quite a character. My sister has a very nice home is in a newer neighborhood on the outskirts of town. Her only complaint is that she has a running battle with deer that come into the neighborhood along the green belts that run through and love to eat all of her flowers. They had eaten all of her tulips previously and then ate all the crocuses last night – you could actually see the hoof prints in her flower beds..

After dinner I took my mother back to her place and then drove to Richmond to see my youngest daughter who attends VCU. She showed me the house she and two friends are going to rent for next year and then we strolled over to Panda Veg on Grace Street for a light supper. The restaurant, while a bit of a hole in the wall, has terrific vegetarian Chinese food. I have eaten there many times since it was also a favorite restaurant stop of my son when he was a VCU student. The two of us had a nice visit and I enjoyed the candor that we can have with each other. She has been remarkable in her love and support of me through the whole coming out/divorce nightmare. The photo above shows two VCU – the university has an urban campus - dorms that front on Monroe Park in Richmond.

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