Hot Hedges Against Downturns
Dr. Andy reflects on the heat of summer and the dolor of missing friends
Dear Friends,
On Wednesday of this week we experienced the hottest day of the year (so far), but that didn’t stop me from walking to the campus of UC Davis and back for meetings and year-end celebrations. I love living in a city where a steps-obsessed person such as myself can do all his commuting on foot, and much of that under the shade of greenbelt trees.
I’ve been walking so much (I took 685,658 steps in May) that my metabolism has been revving up: now I generate my own heat. The triple-digit timing of my insanely-accelerated step count is unfortunate, requiring our household oscillating fans to be turned up to 11. On nights as warm as we’ve been experiencing, rather than coming up to our second-floor bed as she does every night, our French bulldog wishes to remain splayed out upon the cooler wood surfaces of the first floor.
Don’t come after me for pointing out that it’s getting warmer. Nina Lakhani, climate justice reporter for The Guardian, writes in a recent edition of the newspaper that “Almost four out of every 10 journalists covering the climate crisis and environment issues have been threatened as a result of their work, with 11% subjected to physical violence, according to groundbreaking new research.” I wonder if these sort of benighted attitudes are what H.G. Wells had in mind when he wrote that "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
Living in a world of rampant disinformation, with such violence and threats of violence, where do we turn for a more peaceful perspective? My late friend David Breaux, also known in Davis as The Compassion Guy, continues to shine a light on what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature." Breaux appreciated the writings of Lincoln contemporary Henry David Thoreau, who wrote that "The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter." Could Thoreau have imagined the yearly summer fire that all of us face in this century?
A number of us came together to reflect on David and his favorite topic of compassion this past Monday night. I got to MC that event as well as present a poem. You can tell this is one of my poems because of how it begins with not one but two quotations.
The Giver – a Poem for David Breaux
By Dr. Andy Jones
“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers.”
William Wordsworth
“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”
– Grace Lee Boggs
Gathering and accumulating, getting and spending,
We stockpile markers of success,
Hedges against downturns, such as those revealed daily in the news.
Enmeshed in fear, the primary source of superstition and cruelty,
We sometimes feel as if we sit beneath a downspout of downturns.
Before long, we stumble under the weight,
Becoming accumulators of accumulations.
We look askance at the man who doesn’t play this game,
The man who sheds rather than accumulates,
The man who reads instead of wading screen-deep into the muck,
The man whose private resolutions are sacred agreements.
Blessed be the rare man who awakens!
Such a man sees what most of us see only at the end:
That kindnesses offered and received matter,
That connections offered and received matter,
That compassion matters. Perhaps it matters the most.
Such treasures of the mystic, such treasures of the poet,
such treasures of the well-read philosopher
cannot be gained through accumulation.
Like a twinkle-eyed smile received from a tall stranger with a notebook,
Such treasures grow through the giving.
Think of your favorite causes, think of your favorite movements:
Someone had to be there at the start who was willing to give and give and give.
Partake in the riches of a twinkle-eyed smile,
Partake in the riches of the curious poet,
Partake in the riches foreseen by a saint of compassion
By giving as he gave, by giving it all away.
I thank David for his friendship and for the ways that he continues to light a path before us, one that will require many steps yet to understand and to traverse. May the memory of David Breaux continue to inspire us.
Even during the hottest days of summer, I host a pub quiz at Sudwerk, California’s best brewery. As John Lennon says, I hope that someday you will join us. Bring a team to 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, the most recent pub quiz featured questions on famous doctors, assistants, pigeons, triple crowns, cocoa, sole survivors, favorite animals, intemperate choices, dashed military hopes, volcanos, female firsts, long waits, pioneers, populous countries, incredible athletes, animals with similarities, guest hosts, adorable constructs, lines of fire, astronomy, decorations, famous lights, suburbs that become their own cities, Pablo Picasso, larks, 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 (we had more than 30 teams this past Wednesday) 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 (where I am also now sharing drafts of poems). 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. Three questions from last week:
Mottos and Slogans. In 2021, DC Comics changed Superman’s slogan to “Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow.” Founded in 1935, what does the D in DC comics stand for?
Internet Culture. As if life were echoing The Age of Ultron, what Avengers actor took on Open AI last week?
Newspaper Headlines. What film sneaked past Garfield to win the 2024 Memorial Day box office?
P.P.S. The most recent edition of my radio show and podcast Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour features interviews with the poets Joe Mills and Connie Post. I invite you to give it a listen.