In the mid 1960s I was reading Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Allen Ginsberg, Sacred Books of
the East, and attempting to read The Prophet by
Kahil Gibran but the illustrations seemed much
more interesting. I was listening to The Fugs,
Peter Paul and Mary, Donovan, Bob Dylan, The
Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Jefferson
Airplane, Hendrix, The Doors, The Cream etc.
There were also the Cold War, Vietnam War, human
rights movements, sexual liberation taking place
and an antiwar movement that I was involved in. I
took a stand on important issues and was called a
hippie. Thus I joined the 2% of young Americans
between the ages of 15 and 25 that formed the
1960s Hippie Movement. In 1970s, at about the time
when the Vietnam War was over a gay liberation
movement swept across major American cities and
the world. It was a time for celebration because
the war was over, many folks got their rights and
our goals were reached. There were many house
parties and celebrations, for example where I
lived in Chicago and across the country. But by
the 1980s things slowed down and changed. Many
baby-boomers felt burned out and the economy also
burning out. And then, I became unemployed. So,
for I move to Europe where I join my Mom, who
decided to relocate there earlier instead of
moving to Arizona or Florida. I never planned to
stay in Europe for long, but one thing led to
another, and I got sucked in by the spirit of
another brewing revolution. I suppose, in a
subconscious way, that spirit may have lured me
to Poland where I had the opportunity to witness
a major revolution - the Solidarity Movement, the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the end to the Soviet
Union and the Iron Curtain. Yes, I believe it was
that spirit of revolution that I tasted back home
in Chicago, a town that had a long history of
labor revolt dating back the Haymarket
Square and
the 1937
Memorial Day Steel Mill Riots that drove me back to
Europe, Amsterdam and Poland in some inexplicable
supernatural way.
I believe we're
always on a frontier of a better world. And that
dynamic process of changing the world began with
the French Revolution and the 1960s freedom
movements in America. So lets move on in that
spirit of peace, love and freedom, and make this
a better place for all through updating our world
in a peaceful way from time to time when
necessary.
Below are some
photos from 1960-80s. More albums are in the
photo galleries on top of this page. But please
move on to the next pages where there's more info
and stuff.
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