Category Archives: Events

Earth Day then and now

Events, Memories

I remember the buzz about the first Earth Day. I was 13 years old and probably saw posters about the event in my school. I’m sure my best friend, Cynthia, had some involvement in it. Her parents were the most likely candidates to be environmentalists of anyone else I knew. I don’t remember what actually I did for Earth Day 1970, but I must have done something enjoyable because I remember wondering, years later, whatever happened to Earth Day?

First View of Earth from Moon (photo courtesy NASA)

The summer before the first Earth Day the world had seen the first image of our planet from the surface of the moon. Perhaps seeing that image made the inhabitants of Planet Earth see our planet as a more fragile place than we’d done before. I don’t remember being environmentally aware until the spring of 1970, but after that I became more conscious about protecting the Earth.

At first I think the emphasis was on littering. There were campaigns to not litter. I took it to heart and made sure I didn’t contribute to litter of any kind. After that I remember being aware of industrial pollution. In high school my friend Cindy Mahaffy and I made plans to protest toxic emissions outside a local factory with signs stating, “Don’t pour filth into the air, Air is the best thing that we can breathe.” (a line from Donovan’s song, “Spaceship Earth”).

Continue reading Earth Day then and now →

A little culture amid the grief

Events

On the way to the funeral luncheon (at the New Elgin Moose Lodge, believe it or not), we passed by ECC and a marquee near the road that leads to the school announced R. Carlos Nakai was performing at ECC’s art center on April 6. I counted in my head and realized it was two days away on Sunday evening. Later I asked my mom and some of her friends if they’d be interested in attending the performance. Jill and Gordan said they would. Mom said yes too.

I bought a CD by R. Carlos Nakai about 15 years ago at a shop in, I think, Virginia. Or maybe it was somewhere in Wisconsin. I listened to it often — usually to read by or to think. Sometimes even in the car. The CD was used so often that it got a scratch on it (my first CD to get scratched). I was unhappy about that, but still listen now and then, skipping over the scratched tracks. So I was delighted to be able to actually see and hear the man live that made this soothing music.

Nakai shared the stage with William Eaton, a musician, composer, musical instrument builder and storyteller. Together they transported the audience away from Elgin, Illinois to a rest stop outside Santa Fe, New Mexico to imagine the antelope dance; red cliffs in the west to watch the cliff sparrows fly and hear them sing; on a trip through the Earth with the sun; and into our own imaginations.

This blog entry describes the concert much better than I could describe it.

After the concert Jill, Gordan, Mom & I ate at a Thai restaurant in St. Charles.