Where Have All The Hippies Gone? May 10, 2009
Posted by mike in Uncategorized.trackback
On Saturday afternoon at the Art Car parade in Houston, I became acutely aware that I do indeed miss Hippies. AS fate would have it, I was born just a tad too young to enjoy the dirty nakedness that Hippies were known for. By the time I came along, all the fun had been had. All us Later Day Hippies (LDH) could do was grow our hair long, buy our tie-dyed shirts from the Sears and Roebuck catalog and smoke a little dope.
Future historians will tell you that the age of Hippys died on May 4, 1970 when 4 students were killed at Kent State Univeristy. Everything that happened after that was sort of anti-hippy-matic.
But every now and then, a reminder of those glory days of hippy-ness will rear it’s head to remind us all of days gone by.
Yesterday’s Art Car parade was just such an event. Now I would love to tell you that I took my digital camera with me and took tons of pictures for you all to enjoy, but sadly, that did not happen for two reasons:
- I didn’t bring my camera with me to Texas.
- I am the world’s worst photographer.
Anyway, who cares. I can always get pictures off the internet that were taken by way better photographers than me and I don’t have to go to all that trouble of transferring them from a camera to my computer.
See what I mean? Inserting that picture of that Art Car into this post was virtually effortless.
Anyway, the parade was hosted by one of my favorite writer/musicians/politicians, Kinky Friedman. He was the the Grand Marshall and his car went right past where I was standing beneath and I45 overpass with an ice cold Budweiser in my hand. It was good to see the Kinkster and he is obviously as animated in real-life as he is on paper or on TV.
In all honesty, if it wasn’t for all the work involved in creating one of these “art cars,” I might consider making one myself.
Some of those cars were downright beautifully done with incredible paint jobs. Others were a little on the goofy side, but completely entertaining.
Anyway, it was good to see that all of these old Hippies have landed on their feet and found something to do with their time. God knows I sure do miss them. They just made the world a little more colorful place to live, didn’t they?
I still love this video. Honest to Christ, I had a day exactly like this in the summer of 1974. Jesus, if I could have just one do over in my life, it would be that day!
I am glad you are enjoy the state of succession
Hey, some o them bettr intrnet photgraphrs evn got a pitchr o YOU at th parade, Mike!
Malach–Yes.
Joey–Yeah, a couple of years ago that might have been a fact. This year though, my wife allowed me to have a couple of Budweisers under the I-45 overpass and I felt completely at home.
That second photo is the Myth of the Boxster and this is the reality, right?
WTF my link didn’t post?
http://www.cargurus.com/images/2008/07/19/13/05/pic-7203.jpeg
Like you, I was just a tad too young to be a hippie, but I definitely absorbed the sensibility… I miss them, as well.
Atlas–Damn, that would have been a good MvR.
HT/GT–Yeah, that was definitely “an era” in American culture. I miss it too and we sure could use a few of them today.
I think even though hippiedom was in terminal decline when I was born, something must have been in the air. Because I definitely have hippie in me. (Not in a sexual sense since at this rate I will soon be a born again virgin).
I wonder if hippiedom will ever happen again?
x
I missed the hippy years too! Will they come back do you think? Those Art Cars look like fun, many eyars ago we had a car come to our school and it was covered in grass. The guy had to mow his car! There was sumtin’ weird about him………
Kitty–Maybe Hippiedom will come back. From time to time I see flashes of it and I have high hopes but then Rush Limbaugh opens his big fat ignorant mouth and the dream dies.
I think if Rush Limbaugh will die, all will be right with the world.
Amanda–Yeah, I think there’s something weird about all of those art car guys.
That’s why I want to build one.
Sigh. The 70’s….I miss them so.
I got a long way t go till Im in MY 70s.
MI–Yeah, I miss them too.
Joey–Shit, now I’m depressed. I have 15 years to go until I am 70, but when I think back 15 years, it don’t seem that long ago.
I was too busy to be a hippie. Loved the music though… well, some of it.
Never heard of Kinky Friedman until I saw him on the old Imus show on MSNBC. Read several of his books and would shit a brick to talk with the man. I think he had a at least half-serious run for governor of Texas once and I would have voted for him.
Jesus, if I could have just one do over in my life, it would be that day!
I actually hope some part of heaven might be the ability to rerun those types of days.
As far as Hippies are concerned I prefer a smelly Hippy over most of the damn suburbanites I live around.
What did Buffett say about Skip Wiley belonging to the past? Well, I belong there myself with all that free love and dope.
Meggie–Yeah, there was some great music coming out of that era.
Beach–I loved Buffett’s line “we are the people our parents warned us about.” My wife and I use that line often.
Most people don’t know that Kinky is quite an accomplished author and truth be told, I have made a very frail attempt to mimic his style on some of my posts on this blog.
The man is quite impressive.
Hey Mike just playing a little hooky and blog-commenting! For the love of the tiny baby jesus someone tell old dude to wear longer shorts! He looks like he’s wearing a tie dyed mini dress! NOT a good look!
Hippies had a certain sense of peaceful irony it would be nice to see come back- I remember photos of hippies at anti-war protests putting daisies into the barrels of National Guard guns.
Kent State, Ronny Raygun & Dubya have taken us far from those days. However, if Obama is the new JFK, perhaps the new Hippiedom is just a few years down the road. And goddam, i’m gonna be too old to enjoy it. Fuk.
Patti–Are you implying old guys shouldn’t wear short shorts?
I guess I am going to have to agree with you on that one.
Colonel–Story of my life. Too young to enjoy the first Hippie free love fest and too old to enjoy the second one. Dammit!