October is a busy month so far for Hammock Days. What’s a Hammock Day you might ask Well, it’s the anniversary that each of us joined the Hammock team. Oct. 14 was that day for John Lavey, so we played a game of 20 questions, well, 10 actually.
1. October 14 was Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Nine years.
2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? I started the same day as Anne Ray (formerly Crump), who worked at Hammock for several years and now works in San Francisco. She became a good friend. On that day, I remember thinking that the offices were much quieter than a newspaper newsroom, where I had come from.
3. If you didn’t work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Hmm. Probably teaching literature and coaching track and cross country at a public school. With plenty of time left for my house full of girls (Hannah, my wife, and Frances and Mary Sparks, my daughters), and hobbies like running, travel and bird hunting. That, or Vandy divinity school.
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up? On TV, there was a Japanese cartoon called Kimba the White Lion, which I watched back in the ’70s. It was basically the same story as today’s Lion King. In the newspaper, I was a fan of Peanuts (yes, really).
5. What was the last book you read? Last magazine you read cover to cover? David Halberstam’s “The Powers That Be,” a book about the rise of major media companies in the U.S. and the people behind the companies. Racer X, a magazine that covers the sport of motocross. This magazine is really well-done, beautiful images and well-written, relevant to the people who love this sport, fat with advertising, and of all things, published in Morgantown, W.Va.
6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Many memorable days, but 9/11 stands out. I walked in late because I had been at home watching, and no one here knew what was happening, so when I arrived, we all walked into the kitchen and turned on the TV. Everyone here (and it’s a pretty lively, opinionated bunch) was silent, horrified and in shock (no different than all Americans in those first few hours, I suppose). I’ll never forget the look on people’s faces here.
7. What’s your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? Not a fan of the genre, but I suppose I have to say “Rock Star: INXS,” since my brother, Andrew, is a producer on the show. That show had great production values, and I do like the music competition part. No, I would not participate on the show. I’m the guy who selects Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” for Karaoke because it’s almost like speaking and not singing.
8. Where did you go to college? The College of William & Mary in Virginia. Second-oldest college in the United States, after Harvard. Established by Royal Charter in 1693. It’s where Thomas Jefferson and Jon Stewart both went to college. It’s where the academic honor code was established.
9. Where did you grow up? I grew up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, about 15 miles from Washington, D.C., with the exception of two years in Colorado. Most of my life, I lived in Fairfax County. I lived in Annandale and went to school in McLean.
10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Bill Hudgins, because he lives on a farm and because he knows how to dance really cool ballroom dances, including Latin dances like the tango. I know how to dance the hustle and other appalling steps that entertain me.