Could you tell me something about HIPPIES?

Cool memories, Montana ... foggy in places, misty in others, some misremembered or missing altogether, I'm sure, but cool for all of that.

I was fortunate enough to have been around in the tail end of the hippie days and from what I can remember, those were the best times in my life ;-)

I still consider myself a hippie

i consider myself everything. I was sorta kinda around. Too young to participate, but old enough to remember all the silly stuff they did. I mean hey not every one was spiting on vets and calling them baby killers. YYou go hippies!
Ok that was my sarcastic side. I'm sorry. AH, no I'm not. Hippies were the F4's of the civilian world. Put enough junk in them they might do something useful.
mostly they sat around, got stoned and thought they were important when they did nothing productive to or for the country.
Now they sit around thinking about the stuff they did(if they can remember) and think they changed the world.
There that should get a rise out of the hippies

you sound like one of those "regular guys" that used to make fun of the hippies.

How many threads, discussions, books, tv specials and iconic expressions can be attributed to you?

The summer of 1969 was probably the most memorable of my life. Kids, nearly 100 of us, just hanging out. Most were just passing through but Burlington was a great place to hang out. Many who thought they were only going to stay for a few days ended up spending the summer. We'd spend the day in City Hall Park, sitting in a large group, sharing food and drink. Some would panhandle, some had drugs, few had money.

At night the kids would wander off to wherever they thought they could find a bed for the night. There were a few welcoming apartments with beds, couches, and rugs on the floor. The University opened one of the dorms for summer students and let 'visitors' pay a couple bucks per night for any open beds. The ecumenical center gave shelter to those who couldn't find an alternative. Those of us who were local went home, bringing one or two friends home with us if our parents were ok with it. The next day we would gather in the park and do it all (or not do anything) all over again.

We were approached by a cop one dreary Sunday and were told that we had to break up the group. They were getting complaints from the elderly residents about being afraid to walk through the park. We assured him we weren't dangerous and were 'just hanging out'. He didn't want to hear it, told us we had to sit in groups of no larger than four, and if we didn't like it we could take our complaints over to the police station. We did exactly that. Somehow the media caught wind of a 'hippie protest' at the police station, took statements and pictures, and ran a front-page article the next day. My father was not pleased - I never was one for keeping my mouth shut - but couldn't disagree with anything I'd said.

Some of the group ventured to Woodstock in August. The transient nature of the summer meant that some came back, others didn't. Those who returned thought it was the coolest week of their lives. We went back to hanging out, sharing food and drink, meeting new folks as they wandered into town, saying goodbye to those who were leaving.

September brought an end to the summer and to the group. Most returned to wherever they'd come from, others wandered on to wherever they were going next. School brought me back to the real world and the previous summer became only a fond memory.

I occasionally wonder what happened to this one or that one. We buried one close friend a couple years later. She'd become so sucked in by drugs that she couldn't escape them. The other locals lead varied lives. The many other friends of that summer, the transients who stayed for a week or a few months, are a mere memory.

My parents referred to it as my 'lost' summer but, to me, it was the best summer of my life.

Flashback

Sidebar

Most Hippies went on to become real estate egents or Wall Street businessmen. The culture died hard. However, we have them to thank for the proliferation of marijuana use and free sex that we enjoy today.

Well yeah of course all that and a touch of civil rights, environmental ecology as well as the proliferation of the sales and use of Dr Bronners Soap.

Oh yes...those things too.

...and all that from being a stoner who liked to listen to music and screw...

Wow ... whutta trip!!! I just re-read the entire thread which was the source of the "Flasback" I linked above; The Summer of Love, 1969 (The Hippie Thread), from back in 2004. Forgot how much really good first-hand stuff was there - prolly well worth a look for young'ns interested in knowing more about what it was.

Oh, and that thread title has it wrong by a couple years; the Summer of Love technically was 1967.

Here's a Wiki Article about The Summer of Love, with some good links to further info.

You don't like to listen to music and screw? You are missing out on life pleasures Snood.

I sorta recall staying up one night before a DQ exam and doing amyl nitrate and smoking copious weed. I still got a decent grade in the test , won a bet , and probably ate an entire Entenmans Pound cake.
I used to be an undergrad TA in organic prep lab and in P chem. it was the and I was more afraid of some jarkoff pre med student blowing up the chem lab than I was of of Vietnam or Nixon.

Every time I smell patchouli I get a woodie. I cant tell my wife.

I don't remember being in college but I'm told I did well and had a great time!

I did graduate the 8th grade, my dissertation was about Alan Watts and whether or not vegabales have feelings. I got a b+ due to my inclusion of carrots.

Wotta trip this thread has been! Been reading it for the past 15 minutes or so. Asherman, you blessed Budhist, do you realize that in just two posts you have written an almost all-inclusive history of the 20th Century in America? I'm putting your name in for the Nobel. That is friggin farout, man. (Now I'm regressing and starting to post as I used to speak.)

Dys, right on as far as the hippy heritage re: ecology and environmental concerns. We weren't called 'flower children' for nuthin'. One minor addition: San Francisco (haight-Ashbury, if you wanna be specific; North Beach was for the Beats), New York (it's where the Lower East Side suddenly became the East Village) and Denver have been mentioned. But, for a time, in 1968, Boston began to rival New York as the capital of Hippiedom in the Northeast. The Boston Common was covered with squatters that summer and Boston's Finest had a tough time clearing them off the grass (take that as you will). The town was nicknamed Boss-town by some, at least at first.

Keep writing, guys. You're bringing back some sky-high memories.

Filmore East-Filmore West: there was also Filmore Denver and it's still there. As well as Family Dog.

sure I do - I just don't try to claim it has something to do with making the world a better place.....

It sure beats war...

no argument there