POSTSCRIPT: Studs Terkel, 1912-2008

One of the all-time great rabble-rousers, Studs Terkel, passed away this afternoon, at the age of 96. Thom Clark, Nick Delgado and Hank DeZutter -- my friends and colleagues at the Community Media Workshop -- have posted a moving statement well-worth reading. We'll surely miss Studs. When I learned the news, I couldn't help but recall the lyrics from This Land is Your Land, which several hundred people always sing together at the end of the Workshop's annual Studs Terkel Awards event:

"I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
to the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me."

Studs devoted his life to helping all of us hear those voices sounding. And so, what now? We carry on. As Studs used to sign-off on his radio broadcasts: "Take it easy -- but take it."