Great piece. This subculture has been overanalyzed to death, but the early roots were very humble indeed, and the spirit of entrepreneurship this woman possess

Great piece. This subculture has been overanalyzed to death, but the early roots were very humble indeed, and the spirit of entrepreneurship this woman possessed was quite real and strong. Circumstances and tragedy unfortunately short-circuited her trajectory, yet she made a lasting impact, and it seems she found grace in her stride again through her final chapters. My parents had at least one Janis Joplin record and each dipped their toes into the hippie scene, so I was aware of it early on. Bell-bottom jeans were reviled by many in my early youth - including me - but by the time I was in high school, I started to see the appeal in more than one way. I helped create a fake video news report on Woodstock as part of some kind of A/V class. I took acid. I listened to the Grateful Dead tapes a friend had acquired through the still robust tape-trading scene going at the time (incidentally, some of my favorite background music lately has been some instrumental-only jam collections posted by gratefuldeadosaurusrex on YT, check it out if you're so inclined). Only a tiny percentage of baby boomers were actually significantly involved in hippie culture, even during its height. Like nearly everything truly special, it got overblown. Despite its exaggerated presence and oft-deserved mixed reception, though, there was something important about it. There's a reason so many keep going back to take another look. I think it's wise for some of us to continue sifting through the remnants to find what's worth holding on to.