Gaylord Nelson is gone

[Elspode]

I'm going to give a hearty farewell to Mr. Nelson.

I remember well the very first Earth Day. It was the dawn of a new decade, and American society was still full of the feel of the power of numbers that had been shown in the anti-war protests of the 60's. Forward-looking minds saw what might be accomplished by vast numbers of people working together for a common cause.

I was in junior high school, and one of my classes was Earth Science. It only stood to figure that we would have an assignment related to Earth Day. We made posters. I anguished for weeks about mine, and in the end, I did one on recycling. I think it had a tree, and a newspaper, etc.

30 years later found me playing music on Earth Day...in a dumpster at a recycling center. I guess it all fits together somehow.