I have always been alert to things flying just under the radar; there is all that tension where a change is happening, and because it’s not being accepted by someone, the effort to repress it, and keep it out of sight, makes it glare just a little.
For instance, two business types whose pants were a little to short, whose socks were white and drooping, whose coats sleeves hiked just a little toward the elbow, holding up a bed sheet on national TV and exclaiming “We should have some of this!” as they cut it up into 1 inch pieces to sell to the fans. It seems one of the Beatles had slept on it.
I was 16ish at the time, but I could tell by the haircuts that they weren’t fans. They categorized easily enough, by the use of the phrase “We should have some of this,” amongst the same group of people who told us every day that we couldn’t grow our hair long and still come to school. All hippies were losers, and the devil’s music was just a fad. We needed to have some respect and support and conform.
I was around when being ostracized for long hair started being worn like a badge. I remember the sense of mildly disgusted gratification I got out hearing a little of Jimi’s work ringing out from behind this years new shiny pickup truck model; the intro to “Freedom” leading into the cowboy spitting a little chaw into the dirt. In the background of the background I can still hear “We should have some of this!” This phrase, and its children are legion, still surfaces on occasion today, and just under the radar I hear…