Response: Oh Yes They Call Him The Streak....
Roadrunner Rally. You can't help but love the alliteration there. That's the affectionate moniker it had at my elementary school. At neighboring seats of learning it was called everything from Daybreak to Opening to Morning Roundup. It was a musical & educational introduction to the school day designed to ready students for the learning soon at hand. I'd love to meet the genius behind this phenomenon, undoubtedly a burnt out leftover from the first Taos Earthship, who after discovering his Joan Baez records missing, decided to tackle head-on the the problems effecting America's groggy youth.
It makes perfect sense. Take 500 preteens, still reeling from their morning saccharine high, corral them into the library, and force them to sing AM radio favorites while acting out team building exercises. Think the Sonny and Cher Variety Show meets the Sonny and Cher Variety Show.
But Roadrunner Rally wasn't all fun and games. At some point between the Captain and Tenille's "Butterscotch Castle" and the cafeteria mistress' soulful Dylan Thomasesque reading of the lunch menu, the American flag(which had previously been overshadowed by the Ralph Downs Elementary Roadrunner mascot) took on an undeniably new importance. And all it took were a few words from El Comandante.
Principal Spence: Children, please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
[Que cheesy synthesizer intro to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The USA" (Note: For years I falsely labored under the impression that "God Bless The USA" was sung by Ray Stevens, another bearded blowhard bound for Branson. Say that ten times fast. So imagine my disappointment when after watching a post 9/11 Isn't America the Coolest? Marathon on TV, who should appear on the screen, but Lee Greenwood. For that musical sin, I can never atone)]
Students: I...pl...ianc....fl...o...ic..to...th..re..ofwhichit....st..1..natio...und..g.indi...wi...liberty and justice for all.
I used to love that swell at the end. It made you feel the kind of joy that only true conformists know.
You have to admire "the Pledge" though. It hasn't changed a lick since Benjamin "The Tariff Sheriff" Harrison first enacted it in 1892, except for that business with the "Bellamy Salute." A cursory glance at "Wikipedia" shed some light on this anecdotal gem. But I have no axe to grind with "the Pledge." I tried, albeit much later and in a more passive way than SGK, to eschew my pledge reciting responsibilities. But I failed. As will she. That's part of what growing up is all about. Denying your American heritage.
[Que cheezy synth intro to "God Bless The USA."]
posted by A Contemporary Bunkshooter @ 8:04 AM,
