April 22, 2015 · 0:00
↓ Jump to Comments

Earth Day/Birthday — Recycled Recycled Post

Today, April 22, is Earth Day!  It’s the 45th Anniversary of the very first Earth Day.  Here is Walter Cronkite’s report on the first Earth Day, 1970:

It would also be my late sister Judy’s 63rd birthday.

Whoever made the decision to turn Judy’s birthday into Earth Day chose wisely.  Judy was a born environmentalist and recycler.

On the first Earth Day, Judy was a new, very young mother who believed in saving the planet.  She was the first “environmentalist” I ever knew personally, and well, I thought she was nuts.  There was a recycling bin in her kitchen for as long as I can remember.  And this was back when recycling took effort.  She believed in gardens, not garbage, and she made life bloom wherever she was.

“I’ve got kids,” she’d say.  “It’s their planet too!”  

But years later, Judy took recycling to a whole different level when she helped people recycle themselves.  In the 1990s, Jude, who was then living in Florida, began working with the Homeless, assisting at shelters.   Then she actively began trying to help homeless vets find food, shelter and work — to enable them to jump-start their lives.

When she died in early 2000, the American Legion awarded her honorary membership for her services to homeless vets.  A homeless shelter was named in her  honor.  So she’s still doing good works, my sister is.  That would make her wildly happy.

Jude also gave me the Beatles.  So it is very appropriate that they wrote a song for her.

You see, the night the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, it was MY turn to choose what we were going to watch.  And we were going to watch the second part of The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh starring Patrick McGoohan on the Wonderful Wide World of Disney.  My four (all older and MUCH cooler) siblings were furious with me.  But I was quite insistent.  You might even say that I threw a Class I temper tantrum over it, but I wouldn’t admit to that.  But hey, I was seven.  And it was my turn to choose.  Fair is fair, especially in a big family with only one TV.

Somehow, Judy talked me out of my turn.  She was always very persuasive.  Thanks Jude.

Hey Jude, Happy Earth Day-Birthday.

*     *     *

If this looks/sounds familiar, it’s because I recycled this post from last year.  Because you should never use fresh when you can reuse something already written.  And you can never get enough of “Hey Jude.”

52 Comments

Filed under Adult Traumas, All The News You Need, All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance, Beatles, Birthday, Childhood Traumas, Climate Change, Conspicuous consumption, Crazy family members, Family, Farts, Global Warming, Holidays, Huh?, Humor, laughter, Love, Politics, Science, Taking Care of Each Other, Wild Beasts

Tagged as , , , , , ,

52 responses to “Earth Day/Birthday — Recycled Recycled Post”

  1. Elyse
    April 29, 2015 at 0:00

    Those gnomes are even worse than Duncan — and he is a devil!

    Like

    Reply
  2. aFrankAngle
    April 29, 2015 at 0:00

    A Class I tantrum? You? No way … Say it ain’t so Joe … I don’t believe it. …but what a wonderful tribute to your sister.

    PS: An evil WP gnome changed a setting, thus stopping my new-post notification emails … now I have a lot of work to do.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Julie
    April 27, 2015 at 0:00

    Beautiful Elyse. Really beautiful..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. pegoleg
    April 25, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy fresh, new birthday greetings to your sister. Except I’m late – sorry.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Musings, Rants & Scribbles
    April 25, 2015 at 0:00

    The world could use more people like Judy.

    Like

    Reply
  6. pouringmyartout
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    Also, I am very proud to come from the Bay Area where organized recycling was born.

    Like

    Reply
  7. pouringmyartout
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    This was a beautiful post… sniff…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Paul
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    Awesome tribute ti your sister and Earth Day. thank you for sharing this again Elyse – I too missed it the first time around.

    Like

    Reply
  9. Exile on Pain Street
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    Nice post. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Even blog posts. Did you sister use cloth or disposable diapers? That separates the pretenders from the committed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Barb
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    I’m sorry for you loss, but what a wonderful tribute to your sister. Long live her memory.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. 1jaded1
    April 23, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy birthday, Judy….earth day is supposed to be every day…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. markbialczak
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    Happy Earth Day Birthday Jude. Your sis misses you. I’m glay you hung this one back on the line in the sunshine, Elyse, because I missed it the first time around. What a lovely tribute to the original recycler, wise older sibling, lover of the Beatles, do-gooder for the homeless veterans.

    Like

    Reply
  13. reneejohnsonwrites
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    Recycling a post about good deeds someone close to you did for others, is the best ‘earth day’ reuse I’ve run across. Beautiful tribute!

    Like

    Reply
  14. List of X
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    I think I’m also supposed to reuse a comment and say Great post!” 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  15. ntexas99
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    I love your recycled posts, especially when they feature one of your sisters. And you’re right about never having too much of “Hey, Jude”. I even like it when it’s covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks, and I’m no chipmunk fan, let me tell you. But hard not love a good rendition of “Hey, Jude”. 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  16. Carrie Rubin
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    I do remember this one, because I was betting your sister used cloth diapers. Anyone who does that in the age of disposable diapers gets labeled as green in my book (the good kind of green).

    Like

    Reply
  17. snakesinthegrass2014
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    Patrick McGoohan probably won’t ever forgive you, not to mention Mrs. Peel. Oh, wait, that was Patrick Macnee as Steed. Never mind! 😉

    Here’s to Judy!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      April 22, 2015 at 0:00

      Thanks, there, you snake 😉 I did eventually get to see the second half, but it was years later. And I bought the video when my son was little (too little, it scared him) It was a damn good movie.

      But the Beatles were better. And I would have been the only un-cool person in 2nd grade who didn’t see the Beatles if not for Jude!

      Like

      Reply
  18. Lynn
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    Recycled for some but new for me. Your sister sounds like a very special person, deserving of being remembered on a day that honours our mother earth. Keep her memory alive, today & always:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Elyse
      April 22, 2015 at 0:00

      Thanks, Lynn. Judy was a complicated person, but light years ahead of the rest of us on most environmental issues. She had a deep social consciousness that was truly heartfelt.

      Like

      Reply
  19. Nurse Kelly
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    Your sister sounds like an incredible person. And I’m sure she would love that you did this – what a wonderful way to honor her 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Lorna's Voice
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    How perfectly appropriate to recycle this memorable post. And I can always use another dose of Paul singing Hey Jude. Na, na, na, nananana. Hey Jude… 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  21. Bruce Thiesen
    April 22, 2015 at 0:00

    You miss your sister. I can tell. I’m sorry for your loss. Even Paul McCartney can’t change that.

    Like

    Reply
    • Elyse
      April 22, 2015 at 0:00

      Thanks, Bruce. No, Even Sir Paul can’t change that. But I can scream at the end of the song, and that really does help. (Of course, I wanted to scream at her often when she was still alive, because after all, sisters are sisters.) 😉

      Like

      Reply

Play nice, please.