Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
I hope you enjoyed the Independence Day holiday. I must admit that it was a rather surreal experience to walk out of the crowd of 5,000 or so who were enjoying live music, be introduced by Davis Mayor Dan Wolk, and then take the stage myself to read a commemorative poem, one of my duties as Poet Laureate of Davis. My son Truman followed me on stage to wave his American Flag while I read.
Below please find the text of my poem, followed by the hints about tonight’s Pub Quiz.
The Perilous Fight
In memory of the Charleston Nine
America, your founding documents
were written on animal parchment
with feather quill pens.
They were written by immigrants and revolutionists in white wigs
imagining what words would help us all
start afresh, once liberation comes.
Before CNN, before the telegraph,
before air conditioning
they argued on behalf of you and me.
Notwithstanding this colonial start,
our country is young, and getting younger,
dragging us into the future like a child
pulling her parents towards Community Park
on the 4th of July.
The future comes quick,
and we had better make ready.
Jose, Jamal, and Johnny, can you see
if that star-spangled banner still waves?
Its colors don’t run from oppression, from indignity,
from intolerance, or from the perilous fight.
The flag, it waves for you.
Millennials are helping us rewrite the narrative.
Outraged, and with resolve,
we take down the battle flag.
What shall we replace it with?
The American flag?
A rainbow flag?
Shall we replace it with a fist in the air,
with the Golden State bear,
with the rocket’s red glare?
One flag comes down; another flag goes up.
There is work to be done,
and the First Amendment assumes that you will contribute a verse.
This flag celebrates peaceable gatherings,
religious choice, and the curious reporter.
It celebrates the artist
who comforts the afflicted, and who afflicts the comfortable.
Under this flag we have marched with our heroes
who themselves have marched with the afflicted.
We celebrate Martin and Cesar,
we celebrate Susan B. and Sojourner,
we celebrate Harvey and Rosa,
and today we celebrate Ellen and Shelley,
and Francisco and Allegra.
As Americans, we aspire to march with you.
And we thank those whom we have lost.
We thank those who have assembled in peace,
in a circle of welcoming love and grace,
and we will not forget you.
We will repeat your nine names.
We thank you Cynthia, Susie, and Ethel.
We thank you Depayne, Tywanza, and Daniel.
We thank you Sharonda and Myra.
We thank you Clementa for your leadership,
and for your sacrifice.
Look how you have galvanized us!
Tonight’s rockets’ red glare also shines on a wing of the White House.
So does the orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet glare!
Justice come like a thunderclap,
and we must work to be worthy of it.
A week in our evolving nation
can seem like a lifetime,
and we must live that life.
We live it under this flag, our flag,
which on this day, of all days,
is so gallantly streaming!
Tonight’s Quiz will feature questions on bridges, film studios, big internet acquisitions, Silento, pyrotechnics, amateur actors, new American heroes, radio dramas, deciduous trees, fish, religious weddings, comparing Ireland to Germany, diary entries, sequels, inhuman throngs, primatology, St. James, paste, universities, intellectual fashions, The U.S. Civil War, the American Kennel Club, The New Yorker, dudes named Kevin, beds, Texas, fonts, summertime, fireworks safety, and Shakespeare.
See you tonight at 7 for the Pub Quiz!
Your Quizmaster
https://www.yourquizmaster.com
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Here are five questions from last week’s quiz:
- Mottos and Slogans. Commercials for what kind of candy ask us to “taste the rainbow”?
- Internet Culture. The most Twitter users, 33% of the worldwide total, come from what region: Asia Pacific, North America, Western Europe, or South and Central America?
- Newspaper Headlines. The governor of what Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory said yesterday that the island’s debts are “not payable”?
- Four for Four. Which of the following composers, if any, were born in Germany? Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms.
- Sports. Currently number three in the world, who defeated Roger Federer at the 2012 Olympic Games in straight sets to win the gold medal in the men’s singles final, becoming the first British singles champion in over 100 years?
P.S. Happy belated birthday to local pharmacist Chuck Snipes, the Pub Quiz contestant who has provided more swag for you and other players than any other. I appreciate all the trips to the thrift store!
P.P.S. Poetry Night next takes place on July 16th, and features Julia Levine. Details next week.