Turn on, Tune in, Drop out!

Turn on, Tune in, Drop out!....Timothy Leary

If you recognize those words, you know what I'm talking about, right?  You're shaking your head with a knowing smile and maybe a few, fond memories.....

Yesterday we visited a really interesting Memorial.  For those of us old enough to remember the “Peace and Love of the 60’s, Flower Power and Hippies,” it was groovy and far out!  It’s billed as the one and only Memorial of its kind in the United States.

The Hippie Memorial is located in Arcola, IL. which is just south of Champaign, off Highway 57.  For those of you with a GPS, the co-ordinates are: 
N 39  41.124   W  088  18.494

The hippie subculture was a youth movement that started in the United States.  In general, the Hippies explored sexual liberation, protested the Vietnam War, embraced LSD and Marijuana, and criticized the middle class values.  Famous musicians of the era were The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Mama’s and The Papa’s, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Joan Baez.  The Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock were huge concert experiences.

Long hair and mustaches were popular for men, as were headbands, fringed vests, tie-dyed tee shirts, and ragged bell-bottomed jeans. Women preferred floor length skirts and peasant blouses, granny glasses and (gasp) going braless!  Everyone liked to go barefoot.

·         Make love, not war!

·         Give a hoot, don’t pollute.

·         Right on, man!

·         If you really love something, set it free.  If it comes back to you, it’s yours forever.  And if it doesn’t, it never was….

Those are the quotes I specifically remember.  I'm going to go trip down memory lane - Let me go put on my granny glasses, kick my bare feet up on a chair and spin some “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin on the turntable.

Peace and love!