I Can Hippie. Can You Hippie?

I’ve been, I’ve seen, and I’ve smelled. The hippie way of life has something to it. But the biggest thing that appeals to me is the simplicity of it all. My life (or city life) is pretty complicated.

They walk, bike, and love their Subarus. Really. I have never seen signs on the doors of a bank that say ‘No bikes allowed’. Usually they say ‘No shirt, no shoes, no service’, or ‘No weapons allowed’. The other unusual sign is ‘Leave your pipe at the door’. No, I made that one up. But maybe that is the secret to the carefree and laidback attitude that so many hippies tend to have. I hear the home-grown is best, but keep watch for the Federales.

Everyone that I ran into was so helpful and friendly. Now some of this may come from the small town stereotype and coming from a large city it stands out to me more; I am not really sure. But it was a nice change. Cars slow down and wait for you to cross the street; strangers hold the door for you. I get tired of the bitchy ‘I’m better than you and I’m going to show you how’ attitude. People are different; some are smarter than others and definitely more so than I; others make more or less money at the jobs/careers that they have chosen. Does this really have to mean that we can’t get along and even have to be curt and rude to each other? I saw a bumper sticker today that sums it all up. ‘Don’t worry…Be Hippie’.

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So, I am traveling again; this time to Durango, CO; the hippy village in the mountains. First, I had to get here. The only direct flight from where I live is on a small 38-passenger plane. And the plane is a Bombardier Dash-8 200 Series turbo-prop. Yes, commercial airliners still use propeller planes for regular routes; I’ve just never flown on one. It was loud, bumpy, and my seat was in front of the exit row so did not recline. Other than that, it was a normal 2 hour flight. I do have to admit that it was kind of cool to look out the plane window and see the propellers slowly spin and then gain amazing speed. And after we had taken off, to see the landing gear rise up into the engine enclosure; just like you see in the movies. If I had a whip, leather fedora, and linen shirt unbuttoned to mid-chest I would feel just like Harrison Ford in an Indiana Jones film. Of course, it would be the original (or maybe Temple of Doom) because it was the best; it’s all about the snakes.

As I pull up to my hotel. The large marquee out front has written ‘Welcome New Mexico Department of Health’. Wow, I thought, the department had to leave the state to have a convention. Oh well, maybe the hotels in New Mexico didn’t meet the department’s strict requirements. I turn into the parking lot and see that the marquee has another side. On the other side is written ‘Welcome British Petroleum America and Southwest Republican Women’. I’m not sure if the two groups are meeting together or just a coincidental run-in on the hotel sign. Then the thought occurs to me, maybe Gov. Palin is scheduled to appear and the groups are destined to become WRONG (Women Republicans for Oil and Natural Gas). Either way, I am looking forward to finishing out this week and getting back to my family. Don’t forget to vote.