the magic dragon

I spent most of today in the kind of meeting that is most familiar to me. People in suits sat around a large, open table in an office inside the Washington Beltway, explaining what their alphabet soup of professional organizations think about No Child Left Behind and related topics. The terminology and style of the whole event was absolutely typical–with one big exception. The organizer was Peter Yarrow, the “Peter” of Peter, Paul and Mary. Dressed in a bright blue shirt and carrying his guitar, he stood in the middle of the absolutely standard DC conference room and started the meeting with a chorus of “Puff the Magic Dragon.” I would call it a “rousing chorus,” except that many of the education wonks were lip-synching. We also got to hear “Don’t Laugh at Me,” which is the theme song of Operation Respect, and several other Yarrow originals.

One thought on “the magic dragon

  1. Michael Weiksner

    Peter Yarrow’s son was a year older than me at my public elementary school in Manhattan, PS 6. Peter would hold a benefit concert for our school each year. But more memorable to me, he would come to our music class and sing “Leaving on an Airplane” as a duet with my music teacher. Those experiences inspired me to life long passion for composing and playing music, especially for guitar.

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