The Midnight Ride

Listen my children and you shall hear,
Of the revision of the wiki page of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the sixth of June, in eleven;
Because of Palin, kids of seven,
Will incorrectly remember that famous day and year.

I love wiki. I frequent it for all sorts of nonsense. Read a book? Do actual research? Forget that... I have wiki! Ever since Sarah Palin decided to take a "One Nation" tour she has been keeping all of us well entertained and amused. Recently she decided to take on one of the few historical facts that most know thanks to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Kind of like how School House Rock introduced a generation to how a Bill becomes a Bill, Wadsworth took a small piece of history and made it unforgettable. Mnemonic devices ... songs... poems... these all serve to help us to remember the important but hard to assimilate facts. Just like how I will always know the ingredients that comprise a Big Mac ...Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun..., I have always remembered Paul Revere and his famous ride thanks to this poem.

Since 1863 this poem has helped many connect with and remember history. Until now most would know at least a few facts about Paul Revere correctly. That didn't sit well with Palin apparently because as she attempts to "publicize Americana" she wants to make sure we get it right. Thanks to her efforts there have been numerous attempts in recent days to update the "Midnight Ride" portion of the Wikipedia page along with many revisions to correct these revisions.

In the long standing tradition of those great Budweiser commercials I'd like to salute Sarah. "Here's to you Sarah Palin. We thought we knew the truth about Paul Revere until you set us straight. ...Real American Hero... Ms. publicize Americana... Real American hero!"

I would be slightly more inclined to record an actual singing rendition of my Budweiser tribute song to Sarah and post it to YouTube if she'd take on the actual poem and rewrite it the "right" way. C'mon Sarah... I know you can do it.

*snicker*