The First Earth Day, 1970

I was a Senior in High School on the first Earth Day, in 1970, which was on a Wednesday. Our class talked the administration into letting us have a day off from class in honor of this great event to clean up our city. A Service Day, of sorts.

Reluctantly, they went along with it. Loaded with garbage bags and gloves, in small groups, we picked up litter around Duncanville. Many of the rural crown black top roads we cleaned are now three-four lane paved streets with curbs and drainage.

It was a beautiful spring day. My Dad let me use his ’64 Olds convertible. It was one of my favorite times to drive that car.

It felt good to be picking up trash. It felt like a brave step forward to be doing something for the world. It felt like the beginning. Graduation was a month away. Yes, the world was large, but is wasn’t scary. We were going to make it different, better.

Now, I wonder...have we? Maybe, it still isn’t too late.