Remembering Earth Day 1976

We loved the Earth;  we were
a bunch of scraggly M.I.T. geeks
who wanted to make full scale models
of solar paraphernalia to celebrate Earth Day.
I signed up to construct a mock-up window
solar thermal panel box out of Styrofoam panel,
10 feet by 4 feet by 4 inches with a glass top
and a lip which would fit over a window sash.
(Styrofoam?)
Me, who gets confused screwing in a lightbulb,
was staring at, yes, Styrofoam panels, uncut, at
10 p.m. the night before Earth Day.
I could only think that Brian, our fearless leader,
was going to kill me for not coming through.
It was Cambridge, it was dark, it was probably
rainy and cold, as it almost always was.
Most of the time you muddle through these
things and remember them with a laugh ten
years later, or thirty, or whatever.
I only remember staring at the 10 foot
panels of Styrofoam and panicking.
I think I’ll call Brian and find out what
happened after that, if he’ll talk to
me.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/morgantj/3457033233/