Pete Seeger, 1920-2014

|

Pete Seeger always seemed old. But his spirit never seemed to lapse. He was an old man in videos I’ve seen of him from 1960s, and even older 50 years later. I met him at Clearwater at the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace booth in 2007 and heard him perform live. An amazingly prolific folk singer, he also was the Hudson River’s strongest advocate for the arts and environment.

Pete Seeger with Magpie

I knew his life wasn’t going to be long after the death of his wife, Toshi. He had been on and off sick in recent month. He was very old, but never-less the news had to make me cry a bit. I knew as soon as I heard his name on the BBC overnight radio around 3 AM last night, what had happened.

Pete Seeger Blesses the River

I was really surprised to learn that he was a generation older then Tom Paxton, another great folk singer. Tom Paxton was born in 1937, while Seeger was born well prior to World War II, during 1920s. Tom Paxton was interviewed on the radio about Mr. Seeger.

Pretty sad.

Some reflections on the loss of Pete Seeger today.

Took the Express Bus In for the First Time

|

Monday started the new Route 719 express service downtown past my house. It actually only saves about 5 minutes, and it means I only to work a few minutes earlier, but it’s still nice not to be in a pokey bus going downtown. Route 32 at least psychologically seems a lot faster than taking Delaware Avenue and stopping every few stops.

Sugar Loaf

I had previously taken the earlier 719 bus downtown, but that bus was so early that it didn’t work well with my schedule — I would get to work well before 9 AM — and that made for unnecessarily long days.

So far that bus seems lightly subscribed to. I was the second passenger to get on the bus, at Delaware and Cherry – despite the bus starting at 20 Mall then visiting Altamont and Voorheesville before passing my house. No further passengers got on the bus. It was such a change into the routine, and quite a pleasant experience compared to riding the normal bus, I question how long it can last with such light ridership. Maybe people need to become more aware of the service, but I question how long it will be in tooth.

Snow Drift Against Mountain Background

It certainly was a different experience compared to the normal bus ride.

 

Took the lightly used, later new Route 719 bus downtown this morning. It was a pleasant experience.

Beautiful Morning Out Today

|

Bright and sunny but cold. But it’s January, so one should expect the weather to be frigid. That said, riding the bus to work, you run from your house to the bus stop, and if you time it properly, your exposure to cold is minimal. The bright sun makes it not seem so cold.

Green Falls

Quite a bright and sunny morning out, much warmer feeling then the thermometer would suggest.