![]() ![]() When I couldn’t escape the house, I’d close my bedroom door, check on my private zoo and play my favorite records-Earth, Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea and Weather Report. I explored the natural world for hours on end and collected fish and insects. In the end, they did the best they could. When their yelling got loud, nature became a portal out of the chaos of our home. It made their lives extremely difficult, and alcohol became a coping mechanism. There were a number of issues that affected them including systemic racism in America. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood why. My parents raised my brother, sister and I well, but had problems with alcohol. In many ways, these separate events made it possible for me to become the conservationist I am today and to understand the mental and physical benefits of having a relationship with the natural world. James Meredith became the first African American student admitted to the then-segregated University of Mississippi. At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement was making great strides. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published, and it became a catalyst for the environmental movement. The year I was born, 1962, America was undergoing great social change. ![]() ![]() Nature and I have been constant companions throughout my life. ![]()
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