Box-car willies: Modern hobos defy age stereotypes... but little else

Jun 19

Dinner nearing its end, Walter Lundwall smacks his keys down on the table. Managing a quick good-bye, he leaves abruptly, his feet slapping the pavement as he sprints in the direction of the train steadily crossing over University Avenue. Unfazed, Lundwall's friends continue their conversation. While they contemplate calling it a night, Lundwall's adventure is just beginning.

Rail culture: the language of freight-hoppers

The audience squats on milk crates or just mills around in the parking lot behind the Corner's Plan 9. Those closest to the action huddle around a projection screen lit by footage of boxcars, railyards, and graffiti– call it a celluloid campfire. Dangling in the sky is another screen, circular and luminous, also filled with the nostalgic landscapes of our most romanticized industrial infrastructure– the freight train.

4Better Or Worse

The week in review
Worst arsonist: Lyle M. Wagner allegedly sets his Wayland Drive house in Crozet on fire June 10 and then tells the fire marshal he did it. The house is completely destroyed...

The Dish

Hot tip: Diners duped into donating?
Want to support the arts in Charlottesville? Well, a new fundraising program called "Feed the Arts" makes it easy. But some might argue that it's too easy and maybe even un...

Essays

Fight for it: The right to party
A few years ago, when I was a reporter in Chicago, I did a story on a phenomenon I called "The New Prohibition." The city, for various reasons, was shutting down neighborho...

Real Estate

Foreclosure auctions
June 25, 2003, at 10am at the Albemarle County Courthouse Property: 5035 Green Creek Road, Schuyler Debtor: Debra M. Belew Originally owing: unknown Bidder brings: $3,000 ...

Real Estate - $old

$old!
ALBEMARLE 4/16 Don M. and Laura Benson to Anh and Karine Nguyen Tuong, 281 Autumn Grove Court, Mill Creek, $158,900. Donald H. and Maxine Z. King to Dominion Develo...

Real Estate - Off the Block

Off the block
APPEARED IN THE HOOK: April 18, 2002, issue #11 ADDRESS: "Karlona Woods," 4044 Carter's Mountain Road ASKING PRICE: $985,000 SELLING PRICE: $923,330 DAYS ON MARKET: 182 SEL...

Real Estate - On the Block

Gitchell's house: Pretty as a picture
ASKING: $735,000 SIZE: 2836 fin. sq. ft. /1406 unfin. YEAR BUILT: 1910 ADDRESS: 1033 Locust Avenue NEIGHBORHOOD: Locust Grove CURB APPEAL: 8 out of a possible 10 LISTED BY:...

Movie Reviews

Supersized: Hulk's not Hogan's hero
Frame for frame, Ang Lee is one of the best filmmakers around, but when it comes to combining those frames into a full-length feature, his results can be as erratic as anyb...

Music Reviews

Higher power: Music inspires, transcends
Arrested DevelopmentStarr Hill Music HallWednesday, June 10 Growing up, my mother insisted I attend church. I could easily think of better things to do than dozing in a pew...
Identity crisis: Pick a genre, any genre
The Angry Red PlanetOrbit BilliardsSaturday, June 14 Nature, being the bitch/holy mother that she is, seems to be conspiring against Virginia, in the form of end-of-the-wor...

News

Downzoned: High-rise district meets JPA resistance
When Charlottesville unveiled its new proposed zoning ordinance, Ellen Contini-Morava realized that her Montebello Circle neighborhood could end up in the middle of a high-...
Heady bouquet: Confusion reigns in vineyard victory
When local fans of television's The Bachelor wanted to toast Andrew Firestone's choice of Jen with a bottle from the now famous Firestone Vineyard in California, they were ...
Jail time: Doctor used homeless to clear asbestos
A former doctor who hired homeless men to remove asbestos from two downtown Staunton buildings was fined $225,000 and sentenced to one year in federal prison. In the Monday...
Melbourne Place: Lighting the way to 52 condos
A new condo complex near Charlottesville High School means the demise of an 1890 house towering over Park Street, but neighbors and planners aren't blaming the proposed com...
Retirementville: O'Connell gets the hero's treatment
Every year, City Council votes on City Manager Gary O'Connell's compensation, and this year's benefit package has generated some grousing. It's not O'Connell's five percent...
Rice trial: Hiker can testify in Park murders
Testimony from another hiker can be used by prosecutors in the trial of a man accused of killing two women in Shenandoah National Park, a federal judge ruled. In a ruling u...
Unsolved crime: Where's my investigation?
Nine months after Derek Hartline's Jeep Grand Cherokee was stolen, he's still angry– at the city and county officials who investigated the theft. When the Jeep disapp...

Strange But True

Head start: Half as tall at two!
Q. Most of us reach half our adult height by around what age? a) 10 years b) 8 c) 6 d) 4 e) 2 –R. Sampson

Facetime

24 years: And 69 movies for young filmmaker
John Johnson looks like a normal 24-year-old, munching cheese nachos in a local Mexican food joint. But underneath his mild demeanor is a driven man. In his short life John...

Hotseat

Every crowd... Has Silverman in it
Talking to Gabriel Silverman must parallel, in some way, train hopping. One never knows where one will end up. But like many trips, the journey can be as compelling as the ...

Letters

I like the idea
The quotes you printed [May 15: "Transit Center: location irks tranportation advocates"] (http://www.readthehook.com/93483/news-transit-center-location-irks-trans...) give ...
I remember Commonwealth
By writing "Virginia has seen its share of dead magazines (anyone remember Commonwealth?)," Courteney Stuart [Hook Ink, June 5: "High life: New mag showcases Virginia"] (ht...

Cultural preview

Bright future: Taking the beaten path
Like Indiana Jones before it, local bluegrass group King Wilkie has taken its name from the unlikeliest of sources. Instead of co-opting the moniker of a beloved childhood ...
Death to Deliverance
It’s a curious way to sell an SUV– as the ultimate getaway car to escape from hillbillies. That’s the pitch of a recent TV ad starring a handful of urbane buddies...
Filthy art: Exploring a building's bowels
The Second Street Gallery gave digital artist Shannon Kennedy unprecedented access to the gallery facilities. That is, they let her root around in the chimney vents, the ba...
Phoenix rising: Partying for Potter
Everyone at our house is a Harry Potter fan —even…ahem… the adults among us. After three years with nothing but movies to satisfy our craving for magical adventures f...
Solstice celebration: Salute the sun
At least in the Northern Hemisphere, June 21 marks the Summer Solstice– the beginning of summer and the longest day of the year. Since just about the beginning of hum...
Success: Award-winning musical hits town
The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opening this week, is the first production in UVA's Heritage Repertory T...