Ecology

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”-Pete Seeger

The world has lost a beautiful flower, one of the Greatest Humanitarians it has ever seen or will see again: Pete Seeger. His life, his whole being, inspired me since I was a little girl of about 4 or 5 years of age when my mom bought his first long-playing LP of children’s songs for my birthday. As I evolved, got older, I saw Pete so many times at many different marches, rallies, events and at the old South Street Seaport when he first acquired the Clearwater Sloop and would dock the boat, hand out pumpkins, sing a few songs and bring along some friends to help. I remember one time, one of Pete’s young friends, Don McLean performed an unfinished “American Pie.” Pete was an American Treasure and stood for the best of what we could each aspire to be. We will miss him.

I learned something new this morning; Selma Rubin was the co-founder of Earth Day! Where were you on the very first Earth Day? I was 17 years old and my mom and I attended the first Earth Day celebration in NYC. I’m not quite sure who was there; Pete Seeger had to be there! I grew up seeing Pete many, many times, especially at the old South Street Seaport for free!

Selma Rubin was born today in 1915 and died last year. Click onto her name above and watch the short video. Likewise, make sure you click onto “first Earth Day…” above to see a short CBS news clip. I just read a great memoriam in the Santa Barbara Independent that tells all about this great lady’s life.

Mom is going on 90 now, but she truly introduced me to the good things in life from the time I was a baby: Civil Rights, Tolerance, Justice, Literature, Ecology, Education, Family, Compassion, Empathy, Music, Theatre, Film, Poetry, Food…I am very lucky that I have this time with mom and that she lives nearby.

As Earth Day approaches, think of little things that you could do to make a difference in someone’s life.