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I love Earth Day.
My dad was a teenager in 1968. That was a rough year. He told me stories about the Tet Offensive. MLK and Bobby Kennedy. The Civil Rights Act. A nation in chaos. Then he’d grin and say: “But hey, that was the same messy year that Apollo 8 carried three astronauts beyond the arms of Mother Earth’s orbit for the first time. Think of that, kiddo. We went to the moon!" Those three brave travelers were Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders. On December 24, 1968, they made their fourth orbit around the moon. The first humans to see the dark side of our billion-year-old neighbor. Put yourself in their space shoes. The moon blocked out the universe like a black hole. They lost starlight. Lost communication with Earth. Gliding through deeper darkness and silence than anyone in history has ever experienced. Frank Borman said, “The moon is a vast, lonely, expanse of nothing.” Jim Lovell added, “Space is black. Black. Ink black.” Now imagine emerging from that blackness... and over the dark rim of the moon, the earth rises like a blue and green sun. As they cleared the moon, they saw Earth suspended in the starry infinity. Half in light, half in shadow. In all that colorless void, one circle of life: us. Jim said, “The Earth is a grand oasis in the big vastness of space." Anders grabbed the camera, and swapped the black and white film for color. In 1/250th of a second, he snapped an image that changed our civilization. The photo was named “Earthrise.” Humans had never seen Earth so honestly and objectively isolated in space. That photo tilted our consciousness. Scientists called it the “Overview Effect” because that view changes how you see Earth (and yourself). Some said it showed how insignificant we were. Others said it proved how precious we were. I side with the latter. I think anyone with a kid might lean the same way. That photo inspired the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. 20 million Americans marched to celebrate our planet. That was 10% of the population! When was the last time 10% of the nation rallied for one cause? But they did more than celebrate. They demanded clean air, clean water, and protected lands. They were so loud that the government had to shut up and listen. That photo, that momentum, that unified voice gave birth to the environmental movement and the Environmental Protection Agency. I love that story. I love that photo. I don’t know if there’s any image that could unite us today like “Earthrise” did. Consumerism, technology, and social media have created a dark side of the moon right here on earth. But maybe. Maybe we can reach the other side. Maybe we can come through and see, on the rim of all these distractions, something real: the earth rising. Maybe our consciousness will tilt again, and we’ll gather again, and march again, and protect our home again. Mark your calendars. Earth Day is next Wednesday, April 22, 2026. 
"Earthrise." December 24, 1968,
Comments 
Media Jean: There’s a photo of earth on your living room. Is that “Earthrise”? 
Chip: Yeah. Every Christmas Eve, we stand in front of the photo and read the first 10 verses from the book of Genesis. That’s what the Apollo 8 astronauts did on their Christmas Eve broadcast from space way back on December 24, 1968.
Media Jean: That’s kind of a funny tradition.
Chip: Dad likes how God kept looking at Earth, and kept saying that Earth is good.
Media Jean: Well, duh.
Chip: Ha ha. God says, “Earth is good” and you say “duh”?
Media Jean: Ha ha. Maybe that can be our Earth Day T-Shirt. A picture of Earthrise and the words, “Earth Day. Duh.”
Chip: Ha ha. It is super obvious. I mean, Earth is our home, and we’re not taking very good care of it.
Media Jean: We could do a series of Earth day posters too. Like, “Earth Day. Clean Water. Duh.”
Chip: “Earth Day. Clean Air. Duh.”
Media Jean: “Earth Day. Plant Trees. Duh.” 
Johnny: This is a great idea!
Media Jean: Look who’s here. The Lurker.
Johnny: Monitoring is not the same as lurking, okay? Let’s focus on these posters and t-shirts. Causes like environmentalism, they’re a goldmine!
Media Jean: “Earth Day. Buy Less. Duh.”
Johnny: Hey!
Chip: “Earth Day. Reduce and Reuse. Duh.”
Johnny: Stop that!
Media Jean: “Earth Day. Save, Don’t Spend. Duh.”
Johnny: That’s sacrilege! We’re capitalists!
Chip: “Earth Day. Go Small. Duh.”
Johnny: How dare you insult consumer culter!
Media Jean: “Earth Day. Log Off and Go for a Walk. Duh.”
Johnny: Fine! If you’re going to be like that, I’m leaving! Just throw away another money-making idea! Go ahead, see if I care!
Media Jean: Did he log off?
Chip: No, he’s still on the network.
Media Jean: This one’s just for you, Johnny. “Earth Day. Cut CEO Salaries. Duh.”
Johnny: ARRGGHH!
Chip: Yup. Now he’s logged out.
Media Jean: Ha ha. Are all capitalists so touchy? Hey, I just looked it up on EarthDay.com. The 2026 theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.”
Chip: I'm on the website now. They have a manifesto!
Media Jean: And they have activities!
Chip: I bet my dad has all kinds of ways to get involved.
Media Jean: I’m on my way over!
When I was a kid, I got my hair cut at Carl’s Barbershop, down on Snelling Ave. In those days, there were only two places for a guy to his hair cut: mom’s kitchen table or Carl’s barber chair.
Carl Schulz was a third generation barber. His grandpa opened the shop in 1925 and cut hair through the Great Depression and the War to End All Wars. Carl’s dad took over in 1938 and cut through the Good War and on into the Baby Boom. Then Carl stepped up in 1968 and cut his way through Vietnam and Woodstock, Disco and the personal computer, and all the way to the digital frontier. Carl only had one rule: no reading in his shop. No magazines, no newspapers, no books. hen I pulled out a slug of Bazooka Gum, I knew I had better pop it in my mouth quick and stuff the comic strip wrapper back in my pocket. If Carl caught you reading a Bazooka Joe gum wrapper, he’d hold out his hand and everyone would look right at you until you handed it over. I thought Carl was the smartest guy in town. I’d sit in those big red chairs, waiting my turn, and just listen. He’d talk Wall Street with the bankers, books with the teachers, taxes with the accountants, girls with the guys and kids with the dads. Sometimes, a bunch of us would try and stump Carl. We’d meet at the library, a crowd of 10-year-old knuckleheads, hunched over a Britannica that was three feet square when opened flat. We learned a lot of new stuff trying to stump Carl. Carl had a stroke a few years back and closed shop for six weeks. I finally broke down and made a reservation at a salon. People sat in their own little worlds, reading hair magazines and swiping who knows what on their phones. Half a dozen people got their hair cut at the same time, talking to stylists they didn’t really know, sitting next to strangers they didn’t know at all. Hair dryers blaring, rock music piped in from the ceiling. I went home and let my hair grow down to my shoulders. When Carl came back, we threw a heck of a party right there in the barbershop. You never saw so many shaggy-looking men. Carl cried. I did, too. Heck, I’m almost crying now. Getting your hair cut used to be a community event. No one read at Carl’s because it was rude to read in front of your neighbors. Get to know somebody, for goodness’ sakes. That’s what it was about. Talking and listening, laughing and thinking, waiting your turn, getting your hair cut with a few squirts from a water bottle, letting it air dry, then sticking around after you were done because you really couldn’t think of anywhere else you’d rather be. Comments 
Media Jean: Your dad cries a lot, doesn’t he? 
Chip: He’s kinda soft-hearted that way.
Media Jean: I bet I walked by that little barbershop a million times, but I never thought twice about it. It looks so… old.
Chip: Carl is great. He’s like Yoda. He knows everything.
Media Jean: Would he cut a girl’s hair?
Chip: Hair is hair, I guess.
Media Jean: Maybe I’ll go to Carl’s Barbershop next time. I’m curious. I’ll bring my dad.
Chip: Just so you know, you can’t use your iPhone in Carl’s.
Media Jean: What?! I’ll do it on the sly, he’ll never know.
Chip: Carl’s way ahead of you. He has a signal blocker in his shop. Cell phones don’t work.
Media Jean: Ha ha! Sounds like something I would do! I like him already!
Chip: He has an old soda machine. You can get a bottle of ice cold root beer for a quarter.
Media Jean: Heck, why wait?! Let’s get a haircut right now!
Chip: I’ll meet you there!
Have a thought for Bob? Write to us at [email protected]
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AuthorHey, I'm Bob, and I hate technology. So why am I blogging? Because I love my son. He upgraded my typewriter to wirelessly post every keystroke online. It makes him happy, so here I am. Archives
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