Again, another glorious Earth Day celebration in Berkeley. I started Earth Day festivities by watching the webcast of the memorial service being held in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Art for Donella "Dana" Meadows. I met Vicki Robins at the Thirday Thursday Simplicity Forum last Thursday and discovered that she was in the Bay Area for the memorial service. I never met Donelle meadows, but I read a lot of her writings. She was one of the voices that I trusted to clue me in to what was going on in the environmental movement. She was also one of the humans that I relied on to warn me about the evil plotting and planning of greedy bastards.

    At some point today, I was reminded by robert that he and I had attended Earth Day 2000 together. Today, Salvador and Rafa and I wandered over to the events together. We watched Mingus Amongus and Aywah! a belly dancing troupe. As I watched the belly dancers today, I saw them with through new eyes. Since I moved to the bay area 7 years ago, I've seen belly dancers a half dozen or so times. Today, I appreciated them as I watched the incredible control of their muscles and and bellies. But, perhaps most significantly, I appreciated them as I watched several young girls near the front dancing and emulating them. At the end of the performance, when the belly dancers invited 4 or 5 young girls from the crowd who had been dancing along to join them on the stage, I almost cried.
    Thank you Aywah!