This past week I was lucky enough to be at my old stomping grounds; Commonwealth Avenue in Newton watching runners run by flowering trees on a coolish, but brilliant Spring day.. It was an event that I knew well, spending every April mid month (Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts) watching famous runners, unknowns, friends and —three times! — my father (Alan R. Pearlman) run the challenging 26.2 miles of the most famous marathon outside of Greece, the Boston Marathon.
Now, my father was NOT what I would call a typical outdoors type of guy. During family vacations when my mother and I would go to the pool or the beach, my father preferred to stay in the house or hotel room with a good book, grateful for the peace our absence would afford him. He was, however, an avid cyclist as a young man, spending weekends riding hundreds of miles with his beloved bicycle group.
When too many years of sitting behind a drafting table or workbench started to erode his health, and the anxieties of running businesses were taking a toll, my Dad became a long-distance runner, joining a dedicated group at the Cambridge YMCA who ran 10 miles on a slow day, and trained for the Boston Marathon. He ran by the Charles River and took this love to many cities as he ran road races with the idea of personal goals. Not family, not ARP Synthesizer, but just him and the world. Later we did do some runs together, and I have a fond memory of running with him Heartbreak Hill when I was in my mid twenties.
His interest in Mother Earth also took a more global view. He loved science fiction for its possibilities. He was, in every sense, a futurist.. from making Op-amps for NASA space program to creating groundbreaking synthesizers that paved the way for today’s music. He was an optimist, he believed in people’s capabilities.
My dad was also a realist, conscious of how humankind was poisoning the planet. We watched Jacques Cousteau, and he started getting concerned about the environment. He became enthralled with movies that portrayed or discussed climate change and became a fan of Al Gore’s work, especially An Inconvenient Truth, which he bought copies to give to friends and family. He started amassing research about wind power and wind energy and other alternative methods, and wanted to create a think tank.
On this Earth Day, April 22, 2022, I think of what he would be saying about the state of things. He was a gentle, loving, kind, left-leaning man, who cared deeply for humanity and the planet we inhabit. I don’t think he would be surprised by what is happening with climate change, a new disease or man’s continuous inhumanity to man. But I think he would be disappointed that we aren’t changing our ways fast enough.
I don’t want to end on a negative note. Knowing him, he would see some of the small steps forward we have made. The cliche “be the change” is a good one. I’m hoping that today, all of us who love music can take a moment to step outside, pause, listen and think about how to lessen your footprint, take one step with our available know-how or technology to be a part of the solution, and think about the future of our Earth. Play music about this precious planet, listen, write, paint, read, teach your children, pass the torch. That’s what my dad would do.
