By Paul Ritter, Baylee Ritter
In a recent Instagram post, I asked who all of your eco-heroes are, and I think nearly all of you said this dude right here; Paul Ritter, my dad.
I never remember my dad being an "eco-hero." To me, he was just a dude who really (really) cared about this planet and its people. I thought all dads taught their children to identify the differences between pieces of animal scat.
I realized he was a "different" kind of dad when I was in 5th grade. We were doing a paper mache project and I saw him in the newspaper I was using. Beneath his picture were paragraphs of thought "by Paul Ritter." I quickly saw that the contents of the words echoed musings and environmental teachings he had shared with my sister and me at home. At first, I thought I was looking at a one-off. But then I found many more familiar stories across the different newspapers I grabbed from the paper mache stack, all under the title Eco-Quest. They were ideas that I knew by heart and grew up listening to. But now, they were available in print for all to read.
My dad's definition of a hero is someone who looks in the mirror every morning and asks themselves if they are doing what they can, with the time and resources they have, to make a positive difference for our world and its people. He believes we all can be the hero of Planet Earth's story - that we all possess unique superpowers to aid the fight for our future. And I believe him.
I am so excited to share some of his teachings and wisdom with you all here! While this is a reposting of the original article (published nearly 15 years ago), be on the lookout for some original ECo-Quest articles from him here soon!
"The Climb" by Paul Ritter
Initially published for Eco-Quest, The Bugle
Sometimes good fortune falls in tiny moments. For example, my job allows me to take my daughters to school most mornings. These mornings usually consist of us driving the McDowell blacktop, singing the latest songs, talking about anything and everything, looking for wildlife, drinking coffee, and just having a good time bonding.
By the way, I am the one drinking the coffee. I cannot imagine what the girls would be like in elementary school if they were drinking coffee at 7:30 A.M. Check that... it would probably be like how I am at school. Wow....
On the way to school the other day, my daughters Baylee and Taylor turned to me and said, "Dad, do you ever feel like giving up?"
Wow, what a question.
What were they referring to? Were they thinking about life, work, the state of the environment, the quest for a hole in one, finding the perfect corvette?
Do I ever feel like giving up? You know... I would be lying if I said that I never thought about giving up. My great friend and Eco Warrior Tom Ramseyer just sent me a news article about the warming temperatures of the Arctic. Tom put at the top of the email, "Paul, this might sadden you." And it more than saddened me.
Climate change, energy issues, water quality, loss of global biodiversity, air pollution, waste, the depleting ozone, the degradation of the ocean, deforestation, etc. All of this can quickly give you the blues. Musician Al Pittman had an album called The Blues Aint Nothin' But a Good Man Feelin' Bad. I have always wanted to use that quote. Ralph (The Karate Kid) Macchio used it in the movie the Crossroads, and it was a powerful statement.
It is only human nature to feel a heavy load sometimes. I took a minute to think about it and returned to the girls with, "yes, I do, but that's OK because we gotta keep going."
Our only option is to keep going. I mean, we could give up, I guess? But why would we do that when each of us holds power to make the necessary changes. We are in a time where change is happening! Is it fast enough? Will we do the climb to the top of Mount Success in my lifetime? I don't know. I hope so. I think so. My Grandpa Kohlmann once told me, "if you do a job, do it so you can sign your name to it." This holds for our world today. I believe that if we all try our best, with the energy and resources we have, to leave this planet a better place, we will have nothing to be ashamed of.
I looked back at my girls and said, "Do you ever feel like you don't want to get your homework done?"
They both said "yes" at the same time. I then asked, "what do you do?"
"Get it done?" Baylee said.
"Yes, you persist and get it done," I said.
"You know, dad, this sounds like a Miley Cyrus song," my girls said.
Somehow everything in our house refers back to the Disney Channel. I do not know if you have heard the song "The Climb" before, but I implore you to take a minute to read the lyrics that our kids listen to.
The Climb Songwriters: Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe
I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it."
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
I believe we can get it done. I realize that Central Illinois is a small segment of the world, but if we all do our part, the world will be a safe and sustainable place for generations to come.