I Wonder What Would Happen to this World....

Oh if a man tried
To take his time on Earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
I wonder what would happen to this world

The above lines can be found in two places that I know of, the first and original place is from Harry Chapin's song, "I Wonder What Would Happen to this World" - it is the chorus. The second place you can find it is on Harry Chapin's grave as it is his epitaph.

Harry Chapin was and remains a hero to me. I was very young when I was exposed to his music and quite honestly, it wasn't until I was much older that I understood much of his music. What I did understand on a very deep level, even at age six, was that Harry really cared about his fans and that Harry really cared about hungry people.

I remember things very vividly. I was only six the first time I saw Harry Chapin in concert, so this has to be around 1973, and he was a great performer. I felt so safe among all these adults. Everyone was so happy and many songs were sing-a-longs. Even though many things were over my head, I didn't care. I remember him saying "If you brought your kids and thought this was going to be a family show, you were wrong!" and me being worried that my parents would make us all go home, but they were happy (and they were not happy often back then). I danced along with my whole family, we sang and I was so very happy. Afterward, we even waited and met Harry, getting kisses and autographs. Being so young, I thought this was the way all concerts were. I had no idea that this was just the way Harry was.

I also didn't know back then that Harry pretty much gave the proceeds from every other concert to charity. He believed in putting his money where his mouth was. He, along with his friend, Father Ayer, started an organization to try to help stop hunger, World Hunger Year (WHY), still in action today. Harry Chapin testified before Congress about the state of hunger and the urgent need for action. Some would say Harry Chapin never stopped, until the accident and heart attack forced him to stop forever that July night in 1981.

On December 7, 1986 Harry Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on what would have been his 45th birthday. To see the coin, to read the text of the bill as well as read more amazing information about what can happen when one man tries to see what he can do with his life before he dies, please click here.

Another passionate, outgoing man was Steve Irwin. He also was someone who put his money where his mouth was. He purchased vast amounts of land in different parts of the country so that he would be able to save the land for the indigenous wildlife. Through his television program, "The Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin was able to educate millions of people, myself included, about the importance of wildlife conservation. We need to be careful not just to love the "cute" animals, but also be interested in the snakes, the crocodiles, the lizards and the turtles. It was Steve Irwin's exuberant passion, along with his wife Terri's equally evident love of all animals, that enlightened me and educated me to how much I did NOT know. Once I started learning about snakes and the like, I was fascinated.

It was reported today (read Yahoo/AP story here) that a new wildlife reserve in Australia will be named after Steve Irwin. That was the impetus for this posting.

These two people took their very short lives and managed to accomplish great things with them. They each had a passion and they followed that passion and they changed the world. Did the world change momentously, no. But it did change and it changed for the better. Here in Flordia we have Harry Chapin food banks for the hungry. Maybe soon we will have a Steve Irwin conservation project.

(and we all sing together...)

"If a man tried to use his time on Earth... to prove before he died... just what one man's life could be worth... well, I wonder what would happen to this world."