A Civics Quiz

"Miss? Excuse me, Miss?"

I thought he was going to ask me for the Sports section. I was balancing it precariously on my knees as I rode BART to the City.

I said, "Yes?'

"My wife is taking the citizenship test. Can you tell me who the current Supreme Court Chief Justice is? You know, after Rehnquist."

Uhhhhh. Uh.

"No," I'm sorry, smiling weakly. "It's a new guy, and I don't remember his name. I'm afraid most of us couldn't pass that citizenship test." They smiled indulgently and went on with their studies.

Damn! THIS kind of thing calls for something revolutionary! This is an outrage!

I know what you're thinking, that idiots like me should certainly be able to name the entire court. And other little bits of civic trivia. Heck, I'm glad he mentioned Rehnquist. I didn't remember his name either.

But, no, that's not where my mind was going.

There should be internet on BART! There should be internet all over the Bay Area! And then we could all look up the answer!

But she won't have access to any computer when she takes that test. I understand that.

But, hey, I'm kinda lazy. The last civics course I took was in high school. And, as an adult, I have the obligation to read newspapers and the internet, and keep up with this sort of thing.

Good idea. Hmmm. Yes. I'll get to that later.

John Roberts. How did they expect me to remember that? Such a difficult name...