Back in the 60’s we wore flowers in our hair, Earth Shoes, granny glasses, love beads and hip-slung bell bottoms, declared by George Carlin to be “big enough to house a hippie commune under each leg”.
The Vietnam War was going on and we protested or joined. Either way, we had our own strong beliefs. That war was not an "official" war, but it went on from 1961 through 1975. It was said that that war was to keep communism from spreading. Vietnam was split in 1954 into two parts; the communist north, and the democratic south. During that war, about 58,200 Americans were killed; friends, family and school mates. There were some 304,000 wounded out of the 2.59 million who served in the war. Families of the dead, MIA's and injured still suffer to this day. During the war, our national debt was increased by $146 billion. After the war, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines stayed free from communism.
We grew our own vegetables, and other green things; and learned to can and preserve the food we grew. We made bread, sewed our own clothes and made our own candles. We drove Volkswagen Vans and beat up old school buses painted with flowers to represent who we were and what we stood for. We were rebellious and we loved our music. The music was like a news flash to us. We couldn’t get enough of it. We saw the Beatles’ debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th of 1964. The Beatles, God bless them, brought rock ‘n’ roll a new definition … a new dimension, and we loved them immediately! I was at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fort Worth with our C.Y.O. group. That was an unforgettable event and back when we were cute and adorable.
Our generation of Baby Boomer hippies followed on the heels of people like Woody Guthrie and Jack Kerouac, of the Beat Generation. Those people and events culminated to what became an earthshaking generation of the people that we were in the 60’s, and are still today; and to bring together the biggest gathering of people and music in our history, combined to shout our message to the world in a small rural town of Bethel, New York from August 15th to August 18th, 1969. We called it Woodstock. We had a message to get across, and we did it in a huge way … and we were cute and adorable, and our parents were horrified.
We had toned muscles, smooth skin, long hair, agility, stamina, and most of us could read a newspaper without holding it at arms length away and without reading glasses. We were enthusiastic and passionate about our beliefs, and stood up for them. We paid attention to news headlines and had our own strong political beliefs and ideals. We dared to protest, and held fast to our dreams.
Some of us mourn the passing of our youth. Our muscles softened, skin got lax, and we cut our graying hair. Most of us don’t have the stamina and agility we used to have, but we still read the newspaper, and we still get excited about what we believe in, what we’ve nourished for the past 50+ years. The world as we knew it in the 50’s and 60’s will never be the same. We still keep up with each other, and we still love each other. I’m wondering just how many of us realize the impact we Baby Boomers have had on society to this very day. Our peace sign prevails to this day. We have our place in history, and a remarkable one at that. I’m proud to be a part of that generation that has carried us through so much, and is still carrying us. We are stronger for it, and we still stand up for ourselves, and our beliefs. We make a difference in how things are run, and we are still cute and adorable, no matter what age.
Today children dress up as hippies for Halloween. They come to the door wearing flowers in their hair, granny glasses, love beads and hip-slung bell bottoms. They hold up two fingers, saying “Peace brother!” and "Make love, not war!" They bear the peace symbol that encompasses what we stood for and still stand for. My heart thumps with pride seeing them, because they are so cute and adorable. Just like we were and still are today. Long live our legend and long may our story be told!
