Dear Friends,
Some months are so full or so painful that we have trouble forgetting them.
For example, 35 years ago yesterday I graduated from college. Like a wedding, a momentous graduation can root our memories in a particular time and place. I remember donning a red cap and gown and then filing with several others into Dickerson Field with the thousands of other Boston University graduates. 1989 was the sesquicentennial year for BU (150 years), so to mark the occasion, we had the sitting President of the United States, George H.W. Bush as our commencement speaker. You can read his remarks from that day here.
My dad knew George Bush a bit from earlier in that decade, for he and Bush rented movies from the same video store (Video Unlimited) in Georgetown. They would talk about favorite films while making their VHS selections.
I was also excited to see French President Mitterrand and Michael Dukakis up on stage, as well as a couple heroes of mine, Ted Kennedy and Elie Wiesel. Later that day (future) Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott was the speaker for the English Department graduation. Still later that day my mom and I ran into my good friend and onetime pen pal Maggie Drolet in front of the BU Bookstore. I introduced them, and then we stood around awkwardly, taking in the moment. I’m grateful to call many of those sesquicentennial graduates my friends today, including Julie, Teresa, Bob (Hi Bob!), Mark, Mark, Robyn, Ben, Scott, Eva, and Maggie. If Facebook existed 35 years ago, I would likely know about five times as many people from my BU days. I should reconnect with Paul Fram and Mark Hartstein, wherever they are (actually, I just found Paul in South Carolina).
I experienced a similar month many years later, but this one was full of challenges. My father died on March 2nd of 2004, my son Jukie got double ptosis repair eye surgery on March 26 (and subsequently stopped talking), and then on March 31st I was told that my position of Coordinator of Computer-Aided Instruction for English and the UWP would soon be ending.
I miss my dad terribly, my son Jukie can see forward without lifting his head, and I have moved on and up to much more rewarding technology-adjacent positions at UC Davis. As one of my dad’s favorite playwrights, Tom Stoppard, says, “Every exit is an entry somewhere else.”
I am thinking of UC Davis Chancellor May this month as he is experiencing a memorable week. Last week he turned 60, he attended the wedding of one of his daughters and, the next day, his mother passed away. Many of us who follow Gary May on social media know of Gloria Hunter May and his son’s devotion to her.
If you look at the UC Davis webpage of Chancellor May’s remarks on the occasion of his investiture as UC Davis Chancellor, you can see me right behind him, clapping eagerly. I’m grateful that he chose me to be his MC that day.
Also on that day, he thanked his mom:
“I’ve dreamed for a long time of standing on a stage like this, all decked out in full academic regalia — the robe, the hood, the tam and, the bling — and saying out loud, “Hi, mom! It’s me up here, your son. Can you believe this? Did you ever imagine me becoming the leader of a major university?”
Well, I no longer have to dream, and she doesn’t need to imagine. My mother is right here in the audience, and you just heard me tell her what I’ve always wanted to say.
‘Thank you, mom’
I also have to say this: Thank you, mom. Thank you for all those nights you spent helping me with my homework, after spending the whole day in school, teaching other kids.
Thanks for getting me those jigsaw puzzles, Legos and Erector sets. I didn’t know it then, of course, but looking back now I can see how assembling blocks and beams and puzzles taught me the joy of building and creating. My low-tech creations became the seeds of my academic career in engineering.
Thanks, mom, for putting me in good schools and making college a priority for me in the May family. And, most of all, thank you for believing in me.”
Chancellor May is in my thoughts this week. May her memory be a blessing to him and to those who knew her. All of us can collect keepsakes and souvenirs, but in the end, after momentous events or losses in our lives, we have only our memories. As Oscar Wilde said, “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.”
The weather will be delightfully warm tonight! If you are in Davis this evening, please join us at Sudwerk. Recruit a team and join us at the beautiful outdoor patio where we have room for everyone. As Saint Augustine allegedly said, “Good times and crazy friends make the best memories.”
In addition to topics raised above, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on metaphorical stars, window decals, bosses, CEOs, state capitals, falcons, Irish directors, numbers of competitors, notable siblings, job losses in Japan, Disney films, rappers, moonshots, South American countries, Nickelodeon TV shows, stage names, the poetic responsibilities of flowers, taco stands, romances, people with common names, gossip columnists, agricultural science, bones, the month of May, hounds, pianists, recognizable kings with no clothes, movie remake decades, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare. Sometimes a question is substituted at the last minutes because of the day’s news.
Thanks to all the new players joining us at the live quizzes and to all the patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. Thanks also to Brooke, Jeannie, Becky, Franklin, and More Cow Bell. Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the dependable Mavens, and others who support the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of supporters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Best,
Dr. Andy
P.S. Here are three questions from last week:
- People Named Gates. As announced recently, who is stepping down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?
- Pop Culture – Music. Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Burl Ives, Quincy Jones, Ludacris, Patti Smith and Eddie Vedder were all born in the same state. Name it.
- Sports. In what city will for The Oakland Athletics play their home games for the 2025–2027 seasons (with an option for the 2028 season), prior to their permanent move to Las Vegas?