Dear Friends of the Pub Quiz,
As we marched for our lives up Capital Avenue towards the growing and boisterous crowd on 10th Street, the sounds of the chants echoed off the sides of the tall office buildings on either sides of us. Sometimes a chant would start farther east from us, a distant and rhythmic roar, and then finally be heard and discerned by the time the chanting surrounded us, filling us with energy and resolve, like ancient warriors marching into battle.
The difference is that these were signs of peace that we saw all around us. A rainbow sign implored: “DON’T PROTECT GUNS. PROTECT US.” It was held by a child. Another said “ARM TEACHERS WITH RESOURCES, NOT GUNS.” Another said, “PACK LUNCHES, NOT HEAT.” Every sign celebrated the lives and innocence of children, the commitment and importance of teachers, and the steadfast bravery of those Americans who are taking on the National Rifle Association.
The sights were inspiring, but mostly I noticed the sounds. With so many children present, the chants and cheers resounded at an octave higher than one might expect at a political march. And I heard joyful greetings from people I know. The Campus Counsel of UC Davis was walking his bike and his kids when he called out “Dr. Andy!” I pointed out to him that we had run into each other at about the same place at the first Women’s March in 2017.
Some people greeted my son Jukie by name, including our friend Joe, the Superintendent of the Davis Cemetery. He was carrying a long pole with an American flag, reminding us all that, as Thoreau said about Americans, “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.” Landfalls author and Pub Quiz fan Naomi J. Williams took a picture of Jukie and me, and soon it was accruing likes on Instagram. I feel lucky to know so many admirable Davisites!
The people around us who we didn’t already know were just as friendly as those who knew us. The man behind us noticed my son’s interest in his gummy worms, and offered Jukie a handful. Once I looked away for a moment, only to discover Jukie picking lint of a stranger’s wool coat. The man in wool halted my reprimand in mid-sentence, saying that he was a special education teacher, and that my son was doing a great job being patient and attentive. Later when Jukie started to walk off, ten or so of the people around us made sure I knew where he was. So filled with kindness and civic responsibility, chanters at a progressive rally are some of my favorite strangers.
At times overcome with emotion, reminded often of the occasion that generated the expressions of love and concern, I tried to be still and just take in the moment. The sound system for the adults and children who were chosen as speakers was not strong enough to reach us, even though we were near the front of the pack. First I tried to listen, but then I took to imagining how much my experience was like Jukie’s, whose receptive language is limited (though he knows every day that he is cherished). Like Jukie, I knew that people were speaking, but our ears couldn’t make out, or need to make out, what was being said. Instead, Jukie and I just noticed that we were surrounded by love, the sort that is necessary to confront acts of evil or derangement, the sort that is necessary to draw every young person into our circle of respect and caring, the sort that is necessary to transform a protest into a movement.
Holding Jukie’s hand in the noonday sun next to the towering capitol, standing upon the Seal of California with its promise of idealism and progress,, and almost hearing the proclamations of resolve from the teenagers on the capitol steps, I was filled with optimism and hope. I couldn’t help but think of Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
Many celebrate a spring break this week. If that is you, I hope you will join us tonight. You might need a break from your break. Tonight expect questions on some of the topics raised above, as well as on the following: Kings and queens, famous siblings, military might, African-American firsts, apologies, Michael Pollan, outdoor companies, Inuit culture, American gangsters, additional luck, wicks, pensions, George Bernhard Shaw, Super Bowls, unexpected good fortune, doing something about the weather, Starbucks, Indian exports, car brands, the U.S. Constitution, scientific categories, Science in March, zanier jabs, currency, heart healing without surgery, nicknames, teenagers, hypochondriacs, axis accidents, family zoos, titles of ponies, Oscar-winners who are civilians, domestication, what to do with your final quarter, date nights, and Shakespeare.
I hope you are up to something. As Tolstoy says in Anna Karenina, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” See you tonight, and Happy Spring!
Your Quizmaster
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Here are three questions from last week’s quiz:
- Name the Category. All the following belong to what category? Archeology, barbecue, chimney, fan, paint, pastry, wire.
- Pop Culture – Music. I am thinking of an American conductor, pianist and composer who is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and artistic director of the New World Symphony. His name is Michael Tilson WHAT?
- Sports. I’m thinking of a 20-year-old Haitian-American-Japanese professional tennis player who yesterday won her first to win the first title of her career yesterday. Her first name is Naomi, and her last she shares with the third most populous city in Japan, where she was born. Name the city.
P.S. Poetry Night is April 5th. Add that to your calendar now, while you are thinking of it.