bpr pete seeger essay

Years ago, when my grandfather abruptly died, I set out to get a new mate for my grieving, and incredibly deserving, grandmother. I wanted no less than a smart, kind, loving and funny man for her. Didn’t know of a lot of eligible ‘elderly’ gentlemen back then except for two who were very much in the public eye.
Marlin Perkins from Mutual of Omaha’s ‘Wild Kingdom’ seemed roughly grandma’s age and thus a contender. Plus they even kinda looked alike. Each Sun at 7 pm we’d turn on the TV and watch him ride around over Africa in a helicopter as someone else was on the ground handling the lions. I tried to contact him (never telling Grandma of course about my scheme). Well, if he wasn’t brave enough to ever come out of that helicopter, or answer my letter, he wasn’t good enough for Grandma anyway I rationalized.
I moved down my list to the next guy, Pete Seeger who had an edge that intrigued me. Their feistiness might be a good match. I was pretty sure that if he was in charge of ‘Wild Kingdom,’ Pete would insist that helicopter be set right down and shut off so as not to frighten the animals or waste the fuel. Then the helicopter would be flipped upside down and turned into a sailing vessel that would be used to raise awareness for the sub-Saharan ecosystem. Then I figured he’d write a pretty cool song about lions and I’d hear it on the radio.
I started making a Pete Seeger Pro / Con list that I could use to sell Grandma on my matchmaking idea. The Pros were easy. He was more or less Grandma’s age. He went to Harvard and he had a big boat. He played the guitar and banjo. He was a rock star in the 40s and 50s before there were even rock stars (or even rock!). When his popular group played on the radio, Americans like grandma would gather around and listen. And then when the band agreed to sing a jingle for a cigarette company, Pete quit the band. Like I said, feisty!
As a prospective replacement grandfather, he was looking better and better. I never actually bother to think that Pete himself might already have a mate and his own proper family.
Pete Seeger as a songwriter initially crept into my awareness when I was old enough to start working on the family farm in Katonah, NY. Grandma would put me to work sometimes doing such loathsome chores as gardening and flowerbed weeding. I’d find solace in humming that song I’d heard on the radio, thinking he wrote it (and Peter Paul and Mary played it) just for me. ‘Where have all the flowers gone?’ Nowhere- they are right here behind all these damn weeds that I have to pull.
Similarly, I’d find myself singing variations of ‘If I Had a Hammer.’ “If I had a hammer,” I’d start out singing, “ I’d build another chicken coop, I’d build more chicken coops, all over the world…!” Further I thought, if Pete Seeger’s dream came true and he actually got a hammer, maybe he’d come help me finish fixing the porch instead of just singing about wanting a hammer. Because I could have used a hand…
I had been warned about the evils of communism as a child. That Pete Seeger was briefly a member of the communist party at some point I thought might be a hard sell for Grandma. She might not see that at issue here was really a man’s self determination, insistence on self expression, and at the end of the day, doing what’s right for everyone. At the end of the day, she knew that people like Pete were critically important to demand accountability and demand awareness. We needed people to speak their minds and hearts to make us better.
It’s hard to say agitator or irritant without negative connotations because it suggests something that impedes what is assumed to be the established just and fair way. But if what is being impeded needs to be changed, that change must start somewhere. It must start with someone. That someone needs courage, conviction and a voice. They can’t watch from the safety of the helicopter.
There are so few who have the combination of conviction and voice. And of those, so few who use it for so long.
Pete Seeger is again at the top of the list for me.
‘Doing what’s right’ has marked Pete Seeger’s selfless 90 year (and counting!) life. And there’s no indication that he’s lost any of the fire in the belly. I hate to think what the human experience would be without people like Pete creating, agitating and fighting tirelessly. We owe him the gratitude and respect I think he must feel.
I’m sorry to say that the window to become my replacement grandfather has shut. My grandmother passed away 10 years ago and I never did tell her of my scheme to set her up with America’s coolest grandfather. But Pete Seeger has made himself an honorary family member to me and everyone else who cares about the world and the people who inhabit it. Happy birthday Pete. Nice work and thank you.