Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
Dear Number Five
By Karen Quest
Dear Number Five,
If we are to believe the song, one is the loneliest number, but without you, we wouldn’t know where we’d be. I checked you out, and from math to science, to art, music and literature, to religion and biology, you’re everywhere!
I hope you have fun reading some cool facts about yourself.
I give you my Ode to Five.
Starfish are pentamerous
Which might sound kind of calamitous
Five appendages have they
And no matter what you might say
I think they are quite glamorous.
It isn’t criminal to take the Fifth.
Lanford Wilson chose you for the title of his play, The Fifth of July.
Beethoven named one of his symphonies after you.
There are 25 one-ounce shots in a fifth of alcohol.
Almost all amphibians, reptiles, and mammals which have fingers or toes have five of them on each extremity.
The five rings of the Olympics represent the five inhabited continents.
All major north-south Interstate Highways in the United States end in 5.
While not all animals use them the same way, we all have five senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste.
Five is the most common number of gears for automobiles with manual transmission.
From rock to rap, there are a lot of fives.
The Jackson 5
Maroon 5
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Ben Folds Five
Five Finger Death Punch
Dave Brubeck Quartet’s famous song: “Take Five”
Always remember – you’re a star – a pentagram!
Love, Karen Quest
Since 1998, Karen Quest has blazed a trail in the fair and festival industry as a solo female comedy entertainer with her one-woman comedy variety act, Cowgirl Tricks, and Over The Top Stilt Characters™.
She is a small business owner with the title of Chief Operating Cowgirl of Giddyup Productions, representing some of the finest family variety entertainers in the business.
A natural-born educator, Karen has taught acting, improvisation, physical education, and circus skills to ages four to ninety-two.
Karen’s experience performing at libraries led her to enroll in the Master of Library and Information Science program at San José State University in January 2020, coincidentally, the same month she started Medicare.
She is slated to graduate in December 2022, and her dream job is to be an Outreach Services Librarian.
Although she is not fooled easily, she applied to many scholarships that turned out to be shams.
Karen wasn’t chosen for this $1,500 “Fifth Month Scholarship,” but at least it yielded an essay that was fun to write.
The instructions were:
May is the fifth month of the year. Write a letter to the number five explaining why five is important. Be serious or be funny. Either way, here’s a high five to you for being original. (250 words or less).
