Blue-Joni Mitchell

...having been raised in a military family...my father is a Vietnam vet...i heard stories of social unrest, dirty hippies spitting in the faces of returning soldiers...the supposed disrespect for traditional values...hours spent reading "Life" magazine and "National Geographic" told the story in series of beautiful photographs...

...the upstate new york farm...the flowers being gently placed in the barrels of guns...the protests...the killings in Ohio...martin luther king jr.'s untimely death...

...i was always somewhat secretly attracted to this counter-culture...the music of that time was a common denominator...reaching across radio waves and vinyl to provide the soundtrack for a splintered but passionate movement...

...even as a kid...i wanted to go to San Fransisco with flowers in my hair...i was California dreaming...and was enamored by the "power of the people"...

...flash-forward to the early 90's...i found myself in a counter-culture of sorts...dropping acid, smoking grass and a sucker for any good cause...although i was misguided at best and spiritually bankrupt i was glad to be part of the "alternative"...

...times have changed...i would not wear clothes bought from a thrift store...long hair just doesn't look good on me anymore, if it ever did...and i will never drop acid again...there have been bigger changes too...it isn't just the hippies that participate in anti-war protests...people in suits and ties lobby for marijuana legalization...and martin luther king jr. would be proud of Obama...

...even though the outer appearance has changed...and there is a new song to be sung...a different war to be opposed to...a democrat in the oval office...i am nostalgic for a by-gone era that i've never seen with these eyes...

...these hippies-past had bravery and dreamed big...they did manage to make a difference...advances in technology, medical marijuana, earth-day, civil rights, and the music...the music i will always admire for it's being...