Ol' Hippie Music and Other Stuff

My honey gave me a new stereo for my birthday after the old one died back in September. I think I blogged about it...I was limited to using cassettes and most of mine were long gone, thanks to sticky-fingered children. I remember I had certain cassettes and was looking forward to listening after taking them out of retirement, like my B-52's, The Doors, Mary Ann Faithful, Buffy St. Marie, the above album and so many more. I told my daughter about the missing cassettes, during one of our conversations, and she laughed and said she and Joel, my oldest one, got into many of those years ago. Love the big confession after the fact!! Well, I tried to remember some of them and decided to treat myself and order them on Amazon. While helping Joel last week moving his stuff out of the storage unit, I noticed he had a plethora of vinyls...my vinyls!!! Told him some of those covers are worth some $$ and he better not sell them or else, I would haunt him!! He assured me he wouldn't and he loved listening to them on his old stereo...really old stereo I suppose and probably my old stereo!!

The above album is one of my favorites from my youth. In 1966, when I was a freshman in high school, my sister went away to college to USF, a small Catholic college in San Fransisco. The school was located in an area that is now full of history. She was just blocks away from Watts, during the Watts riots, and the Haight-Ashbury district, or known back then as "the Haight." She came back that Christmas break and introduced me to what was called the Bay Area sound and The Jefferson Airplane was one of them. She told me she had gone to this club where people were turning on and tuning out, ala Timothy O'Leary, and of course, she didn't...yea, RIGHT!! LOL She described all the lights and stage special effects during their performance, something our children and grandchildren would scoff and laugh at now. She also introduced me to the "The Association," and their song, "Cherish." So, I fell in love with the Bay Area music and in turn, introduced it to my high school buddies. That sound or songs didn't reach the El Paso area till at least 7 months later. I recall looking for the Airplane albums at this funky record store downtown, and they looked at me as if I were growing lobsters out my ears!! "The Jefferson what??" or the "Who???" well, I also was a Who fan, but I was referring to the "Association." There was also, "Country Joe and the Fish," and of course, "Big Brother and the Holding Company," with none other than, Janis Joplin.

I wasn't a full-blown hippie...I wasn't allowed to be...my parents didn't let me!! LOL However, I attempted to wear the paisley dresses and skirts, the wire rim John Lennon glasses and the "l-o-a-ve" beads!! LOL A dear friend of mine went to Mexico City and brought me back all these cool necklaces and bracelets, so they became my "love beads." This girl once at the school library, who was dating my ex-boyfriend, told a friend of hers, who was a friend of mine, that I was "a hippie" because I wore wire rimmed glasses....so did my friend!! She said it as if I were some kind of weirdo...another words, it was a bad thing!! I wasn't a very good hippie, though. I bathed and washed my long locks every day, shaved, wore make-up, but I dressed really kewel!! LOLOLOL I also didn't tune in or out either...drugs scared the crapolla out of me. I saw too many friends experience bad trips and I could swear, some of them didn't return!! I experienced first hand, how these additions contributed to the demise or death of some really nice people. Hey, this isn't far from over...still going on and now there are more drugs around and quite available.

So the only drug of choice for now is a vodka cocktail. I still like the hippie look, have a few of my peasant shirts left over from the late 60's and 70's, in storage since I've put on some weight since then. I still enjoy the music but now, I dance around in my studio, alone, while jamming to the "Airplane" instead of the smoky, pot-infused environment from back in the day. Prefer the air I breath now and glad I'm not 15 anymore...that sucked!! Peace out.