Old Hippies!

[Texicaster]

¡Bueno!™

Funny story. Walking Daisy dog in this RV/Mobile home park I’m at. Lots of retirees in the mobile home section. One old dude and his wife wave to me and Daisy every day. My guess early to mid 80 years old. Black socks with Florsheim shoes collared shirt tucked into his gaberdine shorts pulled up a little too far. Horn rimmed glasses! Almost military haircut You know the type; grand pa!

Today he’s getting something out of the car and I spot a Steal Your Face tattoo on his calf! I’m like “Hey what’s up with that!” Tells me he was in Vegas a few years ago; his daughter got him drunk enough at 2 am to get a tattoo! I ask if he knows what it is. Says heck yea! He saw the Dead all through their run; started seeing them in the 60’s. THEN he was the supervisor for Red Rocks for over 20 years and saw every show they played there! Danged hippies turned in to old men! Real old men!

"I still play their cds in the car" he says as we wander off!

Kinda cool to meet a guy like that!

 

[wrathfuldeity]

Loved the red rock shows definitely some tales

 

[MarkieMark]

Life lesson:

Don't judge me!

IE: You never know.

 

[Billy3]

I'm 49 and saw the Dead as much as I could as soon as got a driver's license used to tell my parents I was going camping for a week or so in the summer more than once or twice or three times. Met a lot of cool heads on the way to becoming one. But I will say it is awesome to see an 80 year old who can tell you stories about the late 60s and 70s still kicking it. Those people are not going to be around much longer. Cool story man. Love red rocks. Spent a lot of time out in Colorado what a beautiful state. Saw Phish there back in the early 90s. Definitely a bucket list venue for anyone who enjoys an outdoor show. Absolutely beautiful.

 

[rdjones]

80 would be on the high end for "Hippie".
That's more like Beatnik territory.
I'm only in my '60s and feel like I was influenced as much by the Beatniks as I was the Hippies.

 

[Dan German]

80 would be on the high end for "Hippie".
That's more like Beatnik territory.
I'm only in my '60s and feel like I was influenced as much by the Beatniks as I was the Hippies.

I know what you’re sayin’, but I’m almost 62, and it was my older hippie friends that introduced me to the Beatnik stuff.

Out here on the edge, there are plenty of Old Hippies who now spend their time Protecting Their Investments. A bit sad, although understandable. I do still keep in touch with a core group of folks in their 70s who I knew IN the 70s, and who have never completely let go of the 60s. Good people, but it’s a tough lifestyle to cling to.

 

[trev333]

no tie dye?.... I'd be suspicious of his hippy credentials....

 

[Gnometowner]

Old Deadhead, I wrote a song called "Jerry's Ghost", my daughters Cassi and Harmony are now ages 36&40, but went to see the Dead in Kansas City when they were 6 & 10

 

[Ted Keane]

We are everywhere.I was on a plane in the early 90s.Going to shows in Memphis.The lady next to me and I are talking.I told her I'm going to the shows.She got all excited "You're a Deadhead?I've never met a Deadhead.Wow!You look normal."

 

[Telekarster]

Funny man. In their 80's would be more beatnik, as others have pointed out, IMO. But yeah, kinda the precursor to the hips so he was probably right in there with em, but the hips probably would've called him Pops LOL!!!

 

[elihu]

This song is the first thing I thought of.



I especially like the line "Then they sent him off to Viet Nam on his senior trip."

 

[raysachs]

Well, I saw a few shows with that guy at Red Rocks in the early 80’s. I saw a lot of shows starting in 77 and I was never much of a hippie. I kind of played at it for a couple of years in the very early days, but soon I had a life to go along with loving the Dead and I didn’t find it hard to do both. These days the only way anyone would know I’m a Deadhead would be a couple of stickers on my car (somewhat obscure - “Weir Everywhere”) and the occasional hat with some sort of iconography. If I ever got a tattoo it’d be Jerry’s middle finger, which only a few people would get at ALL… But I’ve never been a tattoo kind of guy.

-Ray

 

[lowatter]

The biggest Dead fans I know are Canadian. 2 buddies of mine from southern Ontario. One of them flew out to Mill Valley CA where I was living at the time to visit me(1989) and to see them in Berkley. They've seen them many times. They had tons of bootleg cassettes and wore tiedyes all the time. They both know every word to every song they did and one could play guitar rhythm lines on his acoustic to all they're tunes.
I'm not much of a fan but I used to work right next to the Dead studio in San Raphael and got tickets to see them for free because the cabinet maker I worked for made repairs to Phil Lesh's huge bass road case.
I was more into Bad Company, Joe Walsh, Huey Lewis and the News and the Traveling Wilburys etc at the time. I'm 62 in July and more of a rocker than a hippie I suppose.
I did see them twice however. That time in Berkley and once in Toronto.

 

[stxrus]

Great story.
Never judge a book……

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

We are everywhere.

 

[uriah1]

I saw the dead at the Cow Palace in SF back in 74. I guess was a famous recorded show.
A buddy and me just wandered into it since it seemed like something to do for the day.
I actually liked seeing Manfred Mann and Uriah Heep at the Winterland better. The dead I thought
were too hillbilly at the time.

 

[Sparky472]

It’s interesting that people in this thread are getting hung up on the age, saying 80 is more beatnik than hippie. Phil Lesh is 82. Jerry Garcia would be coming up on 82 as well. Grace slick is 82. David Crosby is 80. Whether or not any of them would consider themselves as having been hippies, we all know they were the tip of the spear, so to speak.

 

[DekeDog]

68, here, and often sport my "Old & In the Way" T.

 

[brookdalebill]

You rang?

 

[Greggorios]

To dance beneath the diamond sky
With one hand wavin' free

...and the other clutching a day glo walker.

Hippies.
Hip eeeee
Hip, hip, hooray!
Hip replacement