Pete Seeger is one of my heroes and today is his 91st birthday! These past couple of years, when we've done the the Hudson River Swim to benefit the River Pool at Beacon, Pete has sung us into the Newburgh side of the river and then sung us out at the Beacon side. Thanks to Pete (and his friends), the Hudson River is clean enough for anyone to safely do this (well as long as you can swim). The man knows his science, as well as his music.

I'm assuming you all know everything there is to know about Pete Seeger-- but just in case, let me quote:

It's no exaggeration to say that Pete Seeger has done more to popularize American folk music than any other contemporary musician, authoring or co-authoring the songs that have become folk standards: "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to name just a few. His work has inspired countless musicians including Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks, and his tireless political and environmental activism have galvanized generations of admirers to follow his lead and take action.:

And the man is a big friend of women in science and engineering. His sister Peggy Seeger wrote the fabulous I Gona Be An Engineer. When she sings it, it's great, but when he, as a man, sings it (you gotta listen), I didn't know it totally touches me.

And check out the lyrics, especially the ending:

Well, I listened to my mother and I joined a typing pool Listened to my lover and I put him through his school If I listen to the boss, I'm just a bloody fool And an underpaid engineer I been a sucker ever since I was a baby As a daughter, as a mother, as a lover, as a dear But I'll fight them as a woman, not a lady I'll fight them as an engineer!

Thanks Pete and Peggy and all of you upon whose shoulders we stand.