Being Hassled By The Man

"Daddy, where do hippies come from?"
Well, once upon a time in a magic land called "San Francisco," there was a spot called "Haight-Ashbury." A long time ago, there were mysterious forces at work on the people there. At first, it only affected their clothes. They started to wear turtlenecks and berets. Then they started drinking more "coffee" and "tea." After a while, their hair began to grow, and the black clothes gave way to a rainbow of colors. They called it "tie-dye." There was music and many other things in the air, way back when, and peace and love reigned, even if personal hygiene suffered a little bit.
Times changed, but these people, called "hippies" because they were so "hip," refused to change with them. Many of the original hippies became "greed-heads" and moved away from that mystical intersection. When they looked back, they found that the language and customs that they had left behind had become strange and confusing. No matter how they tried to find their way back, Haight-Ashbury existed only as a dream.
There were those who believed that they were still hippies, even though the magical vibe had been lifted from them: Jerry Brown, P.J. O'Rourke, and those guys who put together Woodstock '99. And even though the spirit had been diminished, and the tie-dye river had been dammed by Ben and Jerry, it still flickered like a distant star. Nowadays, when we see people going to Phish concerts, or the homeless, we wonder what might have been. And now the McDonald's in the Haight wants to get rid of their dollar menu. It makes me wonder if Morgan Spurlock was ever a hippie.
"Daddy, did you take a lot of drugs back in the hippie days?"