Oh how the Grinch tried hard, until his face was blue, but just couldn’t steal Christmas or the holiday spirit from those Hoos. Driving change will take all the Hoos In HooVille TOGETHER.
Oh and Chris, in a moment of terror and rage on Sunday night - he left a mark, on all of our hearts. But he won’t steal our joy, extinguish our spark – we will move forward, work harder and longer, be resilient, anti-fragile – against all odds become far stronger!
This tragedy has hurt, it has changed me. I mourn some 800 miles away and 2 decades removed from my time in HooVille - but the distance and time matter not, as this was an attack on my family.
I am sad, I weep, I mope around, I'm agitated and short-fused (I'm sorry my love), I hurt for the families of Lavel, Devin and D’Sean, for the UVA community, those who witnessed this terrible act like brave and scarred Ryan Lynch, or the UVA football team who lost three brothers at the hand of another. I am questioning everything. But I truly know deep in my heart we will become better from this, once we grieve, process and come together for change, turning despair and darkness into light. Many hearts which feel broken will be repaired, will become larger as we emerge from this nightmare that took three of our Hoos away far too soon.
While we’ll never see what these three Hoos would ultimately do; the loss of Lavel, D’Sean and Devin feels like it has a part two – a sequel that like the phoenix, will rise out of the ashes. Changing our ways, growing and driving change in their names, to honor them.
And in that way, we will soon see what else they will do, for future generations of Hoos and Hokies too, for me and for you.
I know this may seem playful and light in a terribly somber and serious moment, but I woke up thinking about the enemy of the Hoos from Dr. Seuss, the evil, nasty Grinch. And it kept going, so I did what I do, I captured the moment, not letting it pass. Sitting on my couch, frozen, watching College GameDay and the interview with Coach Elliott and Hagans, the only movement coming from my fingers on the keyboard. The image in my dreams or nightmares as I came to this morning, pouring out of me, with dogs licking my face incessantly, I saw Chris Jones mug shot, the Grinch-like stone cold expressionless face, the tan scrubs bright green in my dream, with a green hue on his face and a terribly familiar look in his eyes red with terror. He was the Grinch, and while he has taken something from us that we will never get back, he will not steal our spirit.
There’s a connection between the Dr. Seuss Grinch and UVA that goes back some 50+ years. Many of us know this, have heard the stories of lore as we walked the Grounds of HooVille, but some do not. Another urban legend, where the story goes that Dr. Theodor Giesel upset that UVA rejected his application for admission, years later purchased the home that sits atop nearby Lewis Mountain to look down on UVA, he stewed, which inspired his story of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. First published in 1957, Theodor’s real theme behind the Grinch story is criticizing the commercialization of Christmas. For even the Grinch finally realized that the real point of Christmas is togetherness, giving thanks and supporting one another, not money and gifts or lavish decorations. Dr. Seuss never lived in Charlottesville, and there’s a minor distinction between his Who’s of Whoville and our Hoos of Hooville, but it was always a light-hearted story that circulated around Grounds.
Perhaps, just perhaps we will find positive and purpose, the stories behind, under, and around that will hatch betterment from this tragedy. There is something significant here that strikes me. Perhaps unrelated, and not the point, but I see something more. The field trip to Washington D.C. to see a play about Emmett Till, a boy who was brutally tortured and murdered, lynched in the Mississippi South. Another horrific tragedy, but it fueled great progress in the Civil Rights movement, driving positive change forward. Here we have 3 Young Kings from a University created by Thomas Jefferson, a complex history intertwined with slavery and injustice for African Americans. Thomas Jefferson’s University a gift to us all through his progressive thought and ideals beyond slavery, now with a memorial to Enslaved Laborers, who were the hands that truly built the Grounds and gave us the gift that is the University of Virginia. Can we now use this tragedy to drive radical change in the areas of mental health education and gun control.
Nothing can steal our hope, our resolve. Not from these Hoos!