Earth Day 2008

Tomorrow is the official date for Earth Day 2008. Over the weekend the event was celebrated at numerous sites in our area - all of them a far cry from the huge celebrations that were held back when Earth Day was was first declared. Where has all of that awareness and excitement that marked them gone? Pondering the meaning of an event like this can be quite nostalgic. For an oldie like me it can take one back to the Earth I knew as a child. Back then, long before there were computers and very few families even knew what TV was, life was very different. It was a time when the Earth, Nature, felt like a best friend. Free time was spent out in it. Reveling in it. Urban sprawl was barely noticeable yet, back then. My friends and I looked forward to getting together and running over the hills and through the woods. That was our playground. Huge wild grape vines (monkey swings, as we called them) hung from immense lush trees along stream banks, providing challenges and fun. Hopping rocks got us from place to place, avoiding thorns and thicket that grew along the banks. When we were thirsty we never thought twice about getting down and lapping up fresh clean water pouring in from a crystal clear spring feeding the stream. Those streams provided for us with a swimming hole to cool off in during the heat of summer. Blackberries, raspberries, wine berries, strawberries, black cherries, spearmint and peppermint tea grew abundantly in the wild and were always a welcome treat. How I remember the thrill of running and running across grassy fields until we could run no more. Falling down and rolling in the cool soft green grass and listening to our laughter echo around us. I can still recall our delight at finding the first bluebottles in springtime as we made our way through the forest; the smell of skunk cabbage; searching for fairies under may apple leaves and toadstools; the first time we got our hands stained unmercifully gathering bouquets of little white blood root blossoms, the sharp pinch from the claw of a crayfish that had been hiding under a rock, the delightful sight of watching a lizard scurry away, an abundance of snakes lurking just about anywhere. The forest could become anything we wanted it to be, overflowing with all we needed to stimulate adventure and loosen our creative imagination. One day we might be off on safari in some wild African jungle. The next may be a visit to a place where fairies dwell. Trees were there to climb and see the earth beneath from a totally new perspective. Freedom. Space. Wonder. Humor. Mystery. Majesty. That was the earth we knew back then. A place of peace and beauty to "just be", feel the warmth of sunlight, watch butterflies kiss gorgeous wildflowers, listen to songbirds and trickling water, feel the cool green grass beneath bare feet, lie flat on our backs and watch the clear blue sky above, stumble upon a flock of pheasants and gasp, astounded at the site of their brilliant plumage, or watch a turtle drag slowly along. And amidst it all, more so then all of the physical joy and attraction, lay a deeply felt reverence - ever present. No other place has ever felt closer to the Divine, to the Creator of All That Is, then just being out there, immersed completely in the solitude and wonder of nature.

What happened? When did it happen? Why did it happen? When did we begin to lose our respect for that which provides so wonderfully for us? When did our crystal clear streams and rivers turn into sewers? Why? Where were we when our fish became contaminated, unfit to eat, began dying and washing up upon the river banks, disappearing from our small streams - needing to be "stocked"? When did farmers stop tilling their fields, spraying them instead with harsh chemical fertilizers and herbicides and planting over top of last years spent crops? When did the last gorgeous wild pheasant die - and begin to be "stocked"? Wild turkeys - now "stocked"? What happened to the once abundant supply of monarch butterflies, frogs and snakes? Where have all of our friends, the turtles, gone? And now - even our once so bountiful honeybees are disappearing - rapidly. When did the people begin their search for a drink of "pure" water purchased in plastic bottles? Where is the laughter of children plundering through thick wild woodlands, frolicking along stream beds and searching for life forms - long gone.

Earth Day 2008. What does that "really" mean?