Forty years ago...

 Forty years ago today a group of friends headed to Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, NY.  The park [still]  has a lovely area for outdoor concerts, a bandshell by the lake. You sit on the lawn and look down the hill towards the lake and the stage. There was a concert scheduled that night, one of our favorite performers. It was a beautiful summer night, we got to the park early and spread our blanket out on the lawn...but the concert never happened.

Harry Chapin died July 16, 1981 -- forty years ago today.

We were sitting on our blanket, listening to the radio.  And a Harry Chapin song came on.. Wow.  Harry only had a handful of hit songs on the radio, but it was always good to hear one.

And then a second Chapin song came on the radio.  And then came the announcement...Harry had died in an auto accident on the Long Island Expressway.  He'd been driving from his home in Huntington Bay to a business meeting in NYC  when his Volkswagen Rabbit was hit by a truck near Exit 40 -- Jericho Turnpike.  

To this day I cannot drive past that exit without thinking of Harry.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, none of this comes as a surprise to you.  Over the years I must have written 10 or 11  posts where Harry Chapin was the main topic, and probably about half a dozen more where his name was mentioned.  

Because the very first concert I ever saw...my very first concert...way back in 1975 ... was Harry Chapin.  And it took place in the auditorium of my high school.  My school was about 10 miles from Harry's home in Huntington Bay.  The concert was just Harry and his guitar, raising money for world hunger. 

Yes, Harry was not only a singer songwriter, he was also an activist, raising awareness and money for important causes.  I think that's part of the reason I am so passionate about social justice, the influence Harry Chapin had on me when I was young.  

So before we start playing Harry's music I will invite you to contribute to Long Island Cares -- the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

Long Island Cares is Long Island’s first food bank.

Founded in 1980 by singer-songwriter and activist, Harry Chapin, our organization is dedicated to serving Long Island’s hungry and food insecure populations.

Long Island Cares is one of almost 200 food banks across America that provides food to people impacted by hunger and food insecurity. When founded, Long Island Cares served a mere handful of agencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, but today, it distributes more than ten million pounds of food and supplies annually to nearly 400 member agencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and operates 5 satellite offices, plus our main office and warehouse in Hauppauge.

 Harry would be so pleased with their work.

So let's head over to the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater.

Spread your blanket on the lawn, the concert is about to start.

Let's have some fun with this one.

Now for the hits.

And of course

Let's close it out with one of my favorites.