When I was a teenager, the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion were at the top of the musical charts, but I still preferred to listen to folk music.  Of all the folk musicians, Peter, Paul, & Mary had the greatest influence on my life, and partially because I was a female with long, blonde hair, Mary Travers became my teen idol.

Only a few years ago, Mary Travers died, and as though I knew her personally, I mourned her death. I had grown up with Mary of Peter, Paul, and Mary. On many occasions, her voice nudged me–it was always urging me to think and to ask penetrating questions about the deeper issues of life, and I learned to ask those questions lyrically.

While the Beatles were creating an epic drama over wanting to hold their girlfriends’ hands, Peter, Paul, and Mary were asking:

“How many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man?”  or

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?“

Peter, Paul, and Mary said more than most through their music. They did more than entertain.

I was introduced to Peter, Paul, & Mary at summer camp.  When I was very young, the older campers and counselors would play folk songs, and those by Peter, Paul, & Mary most stood out to me.  As soon as I was old enough, I began begging for a guitar, and when I was a young teenager, my precious grandfather bought me a guitar for Christmas.

I had eyed what I thought was a beautiful instrument in my tiny town’s Western Auto Store. To be honest, it was the only guitar for sale in Gideon, and I went to Western Auto daily to try to teach myself to play the prize that was resting there for sale. I suppose the owner of that store talked to my granddad, and like it was yesterday, I remember my grandad walking into my house on Christmas Eve. He was grinning slyly and toting a long, black case.  Hours of Joy were packed inside. I taught myself to play Peter, Paul, & Mary’s songs. Folk music became my poetry and my vision. The music of Peter, Paul, and Mary became the window through which I framed much of my world.

I am still searching for “The answer, my friend [that I hope is] blowin’ in the wind.” I’m not sure I ever found a full and consistent answer in the wind, but I have never been afraid to ask questions and to speak the truth when I heard It call my name.

In the above photo, I am at the far right end of the line of girls standing. That photo was taken in my sorority house at Ole Miss or The University of Mississippi. I grew up in the South, and were it not for the teachings of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I may have become racist, but I don’t believe that was possible. All my life, I have tried to view life through a larger lens.

Peter, Paul, and Mary were major figures in the Civil Rights Movement. Only a couple of years after James Meredith was sheltered by the National Guard so that he could begin college at Ole Miss, I began school there, too, In many ways, I was afraid of what was happening in the South–as a result of the Civil Rights Movement–but long before the changes took place in Mississippi, I had seen the change coming, through the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary.

When I was 12, the Peter, Paul, and Mary version of Where Have All the Flowers Gone? was released. When I was 14, Blowin’ in the Wind was released.

Sixty years after Peter, Paul, and Mary’s song Blowin’ in the Wind was released, the Cannon Balls are flying again, as friends and family members have been torn apart by a war on truth:

Because of the music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I was more aware of human rights, than I might have been otherwise.

My awareness of inhumane behavior has remained with me for over half a century, and it appears that we still need to hammer out injustice and incivility. Especially in the South, most folks don’t want to hear that, but because of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I learned never to question man’s inhumanity.

How many years must a mountain exist, before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist, before they’re allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?

I am still asking questions like that. Throughout my life, I have discovered that many issues do not have a ready solution, and I’ve learned that there are far more questions than answers. Yet, I have remained convinced that it is much better to continue asking the important questions than to stick one’s head in the sand, pretending that there are no questions at all.

“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?”

When Mary Travers died, I physically grieved. I felt silly because the legendary Travers did not know me. Yet, according to Scott Peck’s definition of love, she loved me–and she loved millions of other people, too.

“He is now to be among you
at the calling of your hearts.
Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain
for whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is love,” – Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, and Mary

I define love thus: The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.
― M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth

Folk Musicians were teachers; they were prophets. They encouraged and edified through the lyrics of their music. They challenged others to grow and to be better people.

Looking at Toni Morrison’s Words about the 2024 Election – Make Beautiful Things to Heal

The Peter, Paul, and Mary Garden Song is their challenge for all of us to water, mulch, and nurture the gardens within our own lives and within our nation. A couple of days ago, I posted The Garden Song, and I professed that after the election of 2024, I am left with only one choice: I must re-sow new seeds–and re-plant my gardens again and again.

Today Is Another Memoir Monday:

Today’s assignment is to write about a value that formed within you during your childhood and that you have carried with you throughout your life.