Peace and Love were a wish, a yearning and ultimately a steadfast, albeit passive movement to battle an era that was actually massively full of strife, uncertainty, and social injustice. The Hippie generation of the '60's fought and succeeded in raising awareness, changing locked mental attitudes, and tearing down a lot of damaging and prejudicial issues with our (collectively) weird and eccentric Hippie ways, "love-ins" and protests. Especially important was the impact that musical expression had during that generation, expressing, through the words of of the songs, both the need for love and peace as well as dissatisfaction with the 'shape of things'! I think the music of the 60's is just as popular these days as it was then, and the lyrics serve as a reminder that they were the voice of change.

Today, any color people have more opportunities and a hell-yea say-so, and we're not looking at the sky with fear waiting to be nuked, just to name a couple among many changes. There's a new set of issues and battles these days...that never ends in the arena of this existence, yet what is disheartening is the indifference that is prevalent today, unlike the zeal we had along with the Hippie-Flower Child image.

Me, heck yea, I'd go back there in a ♥ beat despite all of the unrest, and along with the fantastic and long-lasting friendships that era forged which is priceless, along with sitting in a front row seat while observing possibly the most rapidly evolving era in history. None of it was in vain because things did change. A lot of the Hippies and pot-heads went on to become professionals that continued to fight for change. Then there's those that became computer and tech gurus and thank-you-oh-so-much, now all of us Hippies can re-connect and love one another in friendship around the planet through social media and cell phones, as well as more easily communicate concerns and continue creating awareness and action plans on issues affecting us today! P&L ~e~

We must never forget the special people that fought for us in the 60's who were not Hippies, did not wear their hair long nor participate in Love-Ins and protests, but gave their blood, sweat and tears, and many of them their lives...too many!

On August 18, I posted a line on Facebook which read "If it was 1969 Woodstock would be wrapping it up." meaning it was the last night of the event. My friend Bob replied with the following: "Your right but I was in V-nam (Vietnam war) with hundreds of thousand of other young men who could not go, and many of these young men never return home, so this is what I remember of Woodstock".