Do Something

I was thinking about Harry Chapin the other day. It was because Diane said something about Dayton, Ohio and it made me think about Harry’s Mr. Tanner song (Mr. Tanner was a clothes cleaner from Dayton who aspired to be a singer). Harry was quite a guy and I had the pleasure of seeing him give a concert a few years before he died. He had a strong spirit for life and worked tirelessly to improve the plight of others. Unfortunately he died in 1981 in a fiery car accident.

I remember his sense of humor. During the concert he would implore people to clap along to one of the songs. He noticed a few weren’t clapping and said to try to clap along “even if you’re terminally cool”.

Although he had some hits during the 70′s and did concerts all of the time, he didn’t live a life of wealth. He saw that his family was well cared for, but he gave everything else to charities and other causes. He cared deeply about hunger and the homeless, and couldn’t understand why there was hunger in the richest country in the world. He founded the organization called “WHY” (World Hunger Year) to make an impact in this area. This organization lives on after Harry passed and is still doing good for the world.

I remember his words about community service, which were “When in doubt do something.” Those are good words to live by.

If you buy one of his albums be sure to check out “Greatest Stories Live“. It has all of his well-known songs and captures the generous spirit of his live concerts.

“Harry, keep the change.”

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One thought on “Do Something”

John
November 23, 2004 at 10:33 am

“The cat’s in the cradle”…definintely gives you pause to think everytime you hear it.

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