Last night after the show “Think Globally, Sing Locally” in Dobbs Ferry, Steve Kirkman and I drove Pete Seeger home, a one-hour drive. We learned the history of the town of Cold Spring, How deep the Peekskill Bay is, and Pete’s brand new revelations about the Peekskill Riots, which of course happened 60 years ago. Pete was there, his car windows were smashed, and last night we learned some more about the impact the riots had on the country first-hand. It was amazing to think that 60 years later he is still learning about and making sense of, this historical event. Sitting in the car eating caramel popcorn and just listening to whatever Pete has to say in the moment is like a semester of a graduate-level history class, and at the same time it is like looking at the Grand Canyon, and yet Pete is also just a regular guy. It is amazing to be with someone who was blacklisted by the government and then was given the congressional medal of honor AND sang at a presidential inauguration, knew Dr. King AND Rosa Parks, and yet was hitching a ride home with a couple of schmucks like Steve and I. We really don’t know what to say to Pete which is good because we wind up just listening to whatever he thinks of, and when he’s not talking he’s usually humming a tune- sometimes probably a tune he’s inventing at that moment. I feel so blessed to have this time with him now when he’s 90. Whenever I’ve been around Pete I’ve at least known enough to keep my mouth shut and my ears open. I don’t know much but I at least know that. I think the humming was the best part of the trip, and reason enough to keep quiet…

Friday, December 11th 2009