Should Today by Buck Gooter

“Should Today” was the only thing written in one of the notebooks found in Terry Turtle’s home after he passed away. “Should Today” seemed like a fitting title for a compilation of Buck Gooter songs collected to accompany notes about charitable donations made via The Terry Turtle Memorial Fund.

We should, today, do something to help someone else. We should, today, try to save the world.


The Terry Turtle Memorial Fund disbursement notes:

Terry Turtle was concerned about a wide variety of issues that plague the planet and often amplified his concerns with his songs. He tried his best to help and to do more for the world while he was here. When Terry became sick, his plan upon recovery was to become much more active with volunteering and helping people. This dream gave him a lot of hope and strength in the hospital. After Terry passed away it was clear that the next step was to keep helping the world in his memory. Thanks to the many generous donors to our GoFundMe campaign we were able to generate a lot of money to donate on Terry’s behalf.

It was fun to think about what TT would’ve done if given these resources. It's clear, based on the songs he wrote and the views he freely expressed to anyone around him, that he would've spread the wealth around to a bunch of different causes that help children, animals, and the environment. Below is a list of all of the places where donations to The Terry Turtle Memorial Fund went and notes on why each organization was chosen. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading this list and possibly contribute to some of these groups as well.


CHILDREN

People Places - A foster care organization in Harrisonburg, VA that will use the money we donate to create a fund to buy birthday presents for the children in their programs. Terry grew up in foster care and cared deeply about the well being of children (he rages about this in his song “Evil”) and always made sure to wish people a happy “YOUR DAY”, as he called it.

The ARC - Provides advocacy and innovation for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Volunteering at ARC was one of the things TT planned to do if he made it out of the hospital. I like to think he’d help with an art program and maybe encourage someone to make great art like one of his heroes, Judith Scott.

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital - Terry regularly donated to St. Jude’s and asked that we bring him his St. Jude’s calendar while he was hospitalized because “those kids give me strength”.

Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia - Another children’s hospital that TT knew about through Philly Loves Bowie Week, an event series that his friend Patti Brett helped curate.

UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency helps refugee children and families. Terry was very vocal about his support for refugees and damned the violence that created them. He called for an end to drone warfare in his song “Stone The Drones”, with the classic line “children should be safe and not die on a whim”.

NAHA & Navajo Relief Fund & St Joseph’s School - Terry often expressed his concern for the plight of Native Americans ("This land ain't your land, this land is our land. We are the Indians: you stole it from us" he sang in "Fork Tongue"). These organizations help with food distribution and education issues for children and families on reservations. TT donated to St. Joseph’s School regularly.

RAICES LEAF Project for Universal Representation for Unaccompanied Children - RAICES provides legal representation for US immigrants and children. Terry was staunchly against borders and demanded we “tear down the wall” in his song “Joshua Rising”.

STAY Project - Dedicated to empowering the youth of Appalachia to stay in Appalachia and make it a better place. TT loved Appalachia and was appalled at the some of the conditions of the region, including the fact that so many bright kids from the area felt disenfranchised and hopeless.

SUUBI Center - provides healthcare to a region of 400,000 people who would otherwise not have access in Uganda. Terry’s friend Alethea Leventhal helped establish the SUUBI Center and TT thought that was very cool. Terry always wanted to send help directly to Africans in need.



ANIMALS

The Wildlife Center of Virginia - TT loved animals and wrote about how so many different animals were “cool”. Our local wildlife center is very cool, too, and they take care of skunks! Skunks are cool!

The White Pig - An animal sanctuary in VA that’s home to a pig named Iggy Pop! Terry Would’ve loved that. He is the man that wrote the song “Pigs are cool”, after all.

WWF Adopt a whale - TT loved whales. Buck Gooter even played along to whale songs at Terry’s request back in 2008 on the song “Jammin’ with da whales”.

PETA - Possibly the most controversial org on this list but I distinctly remember TT saying “I kinda like PETA, man”. I also found a book on animal liberation in his house that he’d clung to for many years, which he didn’t do unless he really cared about a book.

Sea Shepherd - Passionate about protecting sea life, Terry Turtle approved.


ENVIRONMENT

Appalachian Voices - working for healthy, intact ecosystems in Appalachia thru many efforts including anti-fracking programs. Terry wrote ”Fracking up the planet” about his concerns on fracking.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition - helps organize grassroots environmental awareness and preservation in West Virginia, an area Terry was concerned about.

NRDC & Rainforest Alliance - Defending the environment and trying to right the wrongs that TT lays out in his classic jam “Who Put You In Charge?”.

Ghost-motivated electronic rock.

TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME.

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