Movie Music Trivia Night at the Last Picture House, Davenport, Iowa on June 22nd, 2026.
I journeyed over to the Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, to play movie trivia tonight, but I misunderstood the extent of the task. I thought a snippet of music would be played and all I had to do was name the movie the song came from.
Wrong, Snore-Snout! This was only one of 3 things that I needed to be prepared to do. Rather than matching the music with a movie, you had to name the song, give the artist, and THEN name the movie the song was featured in.
Welllllll. This would have been 3 tasks per entry on Round One (15 points). I knew I needed daughter Stacey once it became clear that I was going to have to dredge up THREE things, rather than just one. There were 5 questions (worth 15 points) on the first round and there appeared to be 8 rounds with 5 questions each that were going to be asked of about 30 teams. Some teams had 8 people or more and many were foursomes. Seats were at a premium.
ARRIVE EARLY
Movie Trivia Night, June 22, 2026, The Last Picture House, Davenport, Iowa.
I did not get there early enough to get a seat but, thanks to Cathy and Carrie, I got a backless footstool, which was both good and bad. It was good to meet Cathy and Carrie, who let me sit with them, but the lack of a back sent me packing after I scored 9 points out of the first 15 possible in Round One. (This, to be clear, was not a “good” score, but it was also not the worst of all of the teams.)
I also had not eaten and it was getting to be close to 8 p.m., my back hurt, and, in round 2, the first song was a rap song. Yeahh…I wrote down L.L. Cool Jay, (which will date me and him), had no idea what the song might be, and had even less of an idea what movie utilized that song. (I use the term song loosely, being Old School…and just plain old).
MEA CULPE
But the biggest sign of my incompetence was knowing that Bette Midler sang this song in “Beaches” and also having once sung this song on a ship cruise (during amateur hour.) And my beautiful daughter-in-law once sang “Wind Beneath My Wings” in a beauty competition, which she won. However, did I remember the name ‘Wind Beneath My Wings?”
I did not. And that was some pretty dismal forgetting, when you think of my history with the song. (AAARRGGHHH.)
The original notice of the movie trivia event said it was to last from 7 to 8 p.m.
It was already 8 p.m. and we had not (yet) heard the results of Round 2. When you have close to 30 teams…..(finish that thought).
I had now consumed half a bag of popcorn, some Junior Mints, and a Diet Coke, but I had had no real food. You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you go to the movies and eat a bunch of movie junk food without having had a meal? It’s kind of a sick-to-your-stomach sickening feeling that requires a real meal to remedy it.
I knew that, back home, my golf-playing better half was going to be picking up Subway sandwiches, my back hurt, and my score, so far, was 9 points (of 15) which was not going to set the world on fire (or win this lengthy game)
The 100 or so participants at The Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, were doing well, and I learned a valuable lesson about going early enough to get a chair with a back—although the young folk pictured were doing just fine, seated on the floor playing Solitaire.
Ah, yes. I remember those days of floor-sitting.
Solitaire game in progress at Movie Trivia Night by floor sitters at The Last Picture Housel
As a team of one—and not one who paid much attention to the names of songs—I was at a distinct disadvantage.
Now I know I need daughter Stacey to make Team #17 have even a ghost of a chance—although I do want it on my record that, as a team of one, scoring 9 of 15 was not the worst score in the joint. But it looked like it was going to be downhill for me from then on without the assistance of daughter Stacey, who would have known every song and the name of every performer.
Next time.
