After 37 years, found my old buddy!

[THUDLY]

When I ran away from home due to the typical 1966 family confict of generations head to head, I hitch-hiked to Philadelphia (55 miles) and took a train to NYC. I had my Martin classical 00-16 -C guitar and maybe two changes of clothes in a paper sack. I had maybe $30, which went some little way then: cigarettes--45 cents, beer--50 cents a quart, rooms at some fucking sailor dive along the Hudson River, $3 a day, no locks on the door.

The first person I met, after I walked 40 blocks down 6th Ave . and hit Greenwich Village, was a pan-handling junkie. I turned him down, and went to a coffee-house I had heard about in SING-OUT!, a folk-singing magazine. There, I met Tom, beat him at chess and that night, left the flophouse and moved in with him. God, did we have the teeny-bopper quim!-- we were both young, split the rent and took advantage of the free-love 60's. (And, both of us visited the free Venereal Clinic).

Jeez! What a time.

I left the city in 1968, made another, more convential life, had kids, yadda,yadda. Years became decades, decades were on the verge of becoming forever-- I missed Tom; he was a friend and a teacher (he was 5 years older and already a veteran of the beatnik scene).

I'm getting drunk, so I shall make this story short: after 15 years of internet-searching, we connected! A mutual friend hooked us up. He's calling me, or I will call him, but this week-end, after 37 years, two old beatnik-hippies who were at ground-zero in 1966-1968 will meet. We both have children and we both have a thousand stories to tell.

I'm so goddamn happy I could shit roses!

[the6peace8keeper]

For me I never look back, nor cared too but as im getting older I wish id kept more friends, So thats great.

[all_rhodesian_reject]

hey thats awesome!

[hippiewise]

hi thudly
excellent story, i'm so happy you found your friend from the past. sounds like you have alot of catching up to do. i led some pretty exciting adventures too back in the day. i think about them alot those were the days.

"those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance forever and a day, we'd live the life we should, we'd fight and never lose, those were the days oh yes, those were the days, la, la, la, la,la, la"

remember that song?

[peacedaisy]

thats a really cool story.
:)

[The Sad Knight]

That story is very impressive! Congratulations for you and Tom!!! I hope someday I'll have a similar moments with some of my friends who are far away from me.

[gdhmomchild]

Yeah there is a few people I'm sorry I lost touch with. One was a guy named Ted G. that I met in Alexandria VA and then again in Charlottsville VA. He was a very interesting part of my youth and I've always wondered how life turned out for him and if he kept my journals of art/writing/poetry but I'm betting some woman he hooked up with tossed 'em.

[jahendie]

shit out a rose for me and a dozen for tom

[THUDLY]

Yeah, Tom and I talked for over an hour on the phone Saturday--turns out he made a small fortune smuggling hash with his sail-boat across the ocean in the early 70's. Now, he's living with his wife on Martha's Vineyard, living from investments. He wants me to travel with him this winter to the Caribbean-- hit a few islands-- all expenses paid! I guess I'll be getting a passport!

[shameless_heifer]

Way to re-connect Thudly, Island hopping huh, WooHoo, ROAD TRIP!!!.

I have just recently re-connect with someone that was very special to me back in the daze in San Francisco in the earily 70's when we were young and free and full of life and questions, we went through a lot of times together both good and bad. She a drop-out teacher and me a drop-out student, heh heh. Both in a house of insanity, trying to find reality. I have also made connections with Rita from my home town that decided it was time she met insanity in the Haight and came up around the earily 70's too. I went to visit her before I left SoCali to say goodbye, and hitched a ride to the LA airport with my boy and my nephew both toddlers.. When we got to the airport they wouldn't let me on the plane cuz I was barefoot. So I hitched back down to Rita's and told her what had happened she packed up her shit and drove me to SF and ended up on a journey that most just dream about. She is now embarking on a new journey that she re-connected with a good brother of mine and an ole flame of hers and now her and Ranger are starting out on a new adventure together. They will be going to Chet Helms Memorial Service a-la-hippie style in Golden Gate Park on the 30th as Ranger still has his belongings in SF and him and Rita have to go get them. I wish I was free to join them, what a great loss.
sh

[THUDLY]

Too bad you can't go-- but you probably wouldn't care much for SF now-- according to my sister who was there a few years ago, it's totally yuppiefied and expensive as hell. Of course, the parks and the weather never changes.


BTW, when did Chet Helms die?

[luvndrumn]

BTW, when did Chet Helms die?
Look here. (http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100197)

[shameless_heifer]

Bless his wonderful and loving heart. There will never be another and he will be sorely missed. I just wanna cry. It seems that Hepititis C is taking out half the old hippies.
sh
PS
I don't think I wanna go back to the Haight, I think it would break my heart to see what has happened to LOVE ST and the dwellers within.

[THUDLY]

A woman I once loved and carried as a pall-bearer to her grave, died from Hep C. She wasn't content with smoking pot, drinking and dropping pills. She had to shoot up, sharing needles with human debris. At the end of her life, she begged me to fuck her; fat chance!


She died alone, unfucked.

But, I still loved her, and always will.

[shameless_heifer]

You can get Hep-C from other sources then the needle, Thudly Dear, just bc your needle free does not mean you cannot get it. One of my bro-in-laws died from it a few years ago, and was NOT by anymeans into the needle or drugs at all. Ever. He was the Garland Fire Chief for 40 yrs. He contracted it over seas during WW11. It lay in his liver all those years doing it damage. He was not even a drinker. Bless his soul.
sh

[SLOTH]

Hey there SH,
For sure you are correct~
That goes for TB too~
I was told by my family Dr.
while taking blood from me that I had been
exposed to TB and hep B at some time in my life.
I had to go for the 3 shots for the Hep B
It all just lies in our body~
When it feels like showing itself it does~
Gabba Gabba Hey

[SLOTH]

Hey there SH,
Good luck to them,
and it soooo
sounds like fun~
I love road trips~
Gabba Gabba Hey

[SLOTH]

Hey there Thudly,
Nice story~
Keep us informed and lots and lots of
super cool and good vibes for you both~

[THUDLY]

Hey, Sloth: What the fuck does "Gabba, Gabba, Hey" mean?

Just drunk and curious.

[SLOTH]

Hey there THUDLY~
Gabba Gabba Hey is part of a song of the Ramones~
If you are a Ramones fan,are you?Maybe you are not?
Then you would have known this~
I just love them anyway and wear my ramones tattoo proudly~
it's all good~

[THUDLY]

Hey there Sloth!: Hell, yes, I'm a Ramone fan-- they started at CBGB's. I just didn't recognize that phrase, and I have CD's by them. Which song is it on? I guess I've been fucked-up for too fucking long.

[SLOTH]

That's ok THUDLY~
If I remember right they say it on the PINHEAD song~
I will have to check the back's of the cd's to be sure~
I have all their stuff~
They are great aren't they~
Soooo happy that you like them too~

[THUDLY]

I don't have that one. It figures.

[MamaTheLama]

Congrats.
:)

Every time I unearth an old friend they wanna get high *sigh*.....am I the only one that honestly moved on?
I quit unearthing them.

[teepi]

Thudly,
Wow what a blessing to connect with people who made such an impression on us.
I found my sweet Larry again, after 27 years of missing him so much.
And this time I married him
Keep us up to date on your adventure..
teepi

[THUDLY]

Glad to hear that teepi, but I ain't marrying Tom, even though he lives on Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts. Hell, I'm spoken for: 8 pussycats and my week-end girlfriend, whom, BTW, I cured of lesbianism! She was gay for 18 years, I'm only her second man, now she'll never go back! (Irishmen have that unique talent, don't you know?)

[teepi]

HAHA thats funny, as I too, had found a good woman I was with for 7 years, she knew that if he ever came back into my life that my heart would over rule though.

I guess German men have a bit of that quality too.

[THUDLY]

You're damn right that's funny-- I was just bullshitting you. The minute I turn my back, my "cured lesbian" is running up my phone bill calling up her idiot ex-girlfriend in Lousiana. (Who left her for a man, BTW.)


It's all too confusing, so mostly I stay drunk, have sex and don't ask too many questions.

We Irish are special, though: we all descend from kings.

[teepi]

I too have a bit of the Irish in me....Irish,english one one side...cuban on the other.

Hell of a temper, but very parlimentary about it.

[THUDLY]

My God! What a deadly combination! I'm 85 per cent Irish (on both sides--my mother's side is 100 per cent), so the English aren't exactly my friends. Potato famine and all that you understand.


I do love Cuban music, though. In fact, until I got arthritis in my fingers, I played Spanish flamenco a lot.

Alas, that was when I was young!

Do you play any instrument, Teepi?

[teepi]

I play a bit of guitar, my husband is a musician and we built a recording studio onto our house this past spring and summer. We are now adding a vocal booth.
I also sing a bit.
We recorded our first song together,Stormy Monday.
We are big blues fans and I love rhythm and blues.
He plays everything, coming from a long line of musicians.

I adore cuban music.
I like Otmar Liebert and of course I love Santana..although not very cubanny.

Right now I am eating a second bowl of corned beef and potatoes,carrots and cabbage. Just dug up the last little potatoes and carrots before a hard frost comes.
No potatoe famine around here Larry would certainly wither away as he eats them almost every day.
My mother was from Cuba.

[THUDLY]

I'm glad your mother escaped Castro-- she is blessed. Someday, the vile tyrant will die and the good people will rise up, kill all the Commy assholes and be free again.


Then, I can go visit Ernest Hemingway's finca where the 6-toed descendants of his numerous cats still live. Viva Ernesto! Arriba!

[teepi]

Batista was still empowered when she left.
But that was in '57.
Alas she died in '66, I was 7.
cuban politics are crazy.
So many people on both sides of the fence.
it is sad that money cannot be sent. And that you can only visit relatives one time in your life.
I have a sis ter thereI have never met. She was left behind with her father with promises to get out. Then Castro came into power before it went down.
I last heard from her when my mother died.

I do not know anything about her as my father has never been interested in keeping me informed of any of my life when I was young.
Lost alot of history.

[luvndrumn]

{{{{{{{{{{teepi}}}}}}}}}}

MUAH!;)

How ARE you?!!!:D

[teepi]

{{{{{{SMOOOCH!!!!!}}}}}}}

I am FINE sweetie.
Missed you all very much.
Appreciate all the mails and jokes.

But I am back so...feelin' groovy.( they REALLY need to put a key on this thing with little music treble clefts on it)

[THUDLY]

Sorry to hear your mother died when you were so young, teepi. You've survived and are a strong woman, I can see. Someday you'll return to Cuba: evil never prevails long, just long enough to kill and maim a generation.


May I ask a question? No? Well, I'm asking anyway: Why is that woman green? She looks like she has angel wings and a halo and is faceless representing all woman-hood, but why is she green? Mother Earth?

Signed, A Goya and Van Gogh and Monet fan (but not a Picasso fan).

[teepi]

I have never been to Cuba. My father was stationed there at Gitmo and met my mom. She was a young divorce.
She had my sister but when it was arranged that they would be married and she could get out she had to leave my sister behind with her father. It was suppose to turn out differently.

My mom became pregnant with me and when I was 5 she got sick.

That woman is green because that is the color that I thought would look good for contrast. The wings and halo are copper leaf.

You may always ask a question.

[THUDLY]

Are those red things supposed to be Satan fixing to drag her down?


All in all: interesting, though I wouldn't want in my living room.

I have a Monet and Renoir print hanging now.

I used to have a Picasso, "The Absinthe Drinker", but I found it too depressing.

I find Picasso ugly: every woman he drew is either ugly or misshapen. For a man who fucked so many women, why did he make them so unattractive? I think he really despised women. I have no use for him-- he's the Twentieth- Century's biggest phony. And, he had Old Master-Talent when he first began.

I much prefer Dali-- a visionary (though, perhaps, insane), but a better pallett, technique and vision. Also, his wife of many years, was glorified, not degrinated as Picassos' Mara was.

Fuck Picasso.

[teepi]

not a picasso fan either.

That was an art trading card.(I just changed the image with a 14x18 I finished last night...self portrait)
The art trading cards I do are only 2.5 X3.5 " the size of a playing card. That one was bought by someone on the forums who have a few of my works.

[THUDLY]

Goddamn, sweetie: it's hard to say Picasso was the biggest phony of art in the 20th century: the museums are replete with them. Shit, I forgot about Warhol, Basquiat, The Plain-Field School, shit-- I forget their names right now. Oh, Rauschanberg, et al. "Action Painters", drunks and druggies.


The only bigger fools than the "painters", are the educated fools that finance them.

Me, I like Winslow Homer, Norman Rockwell, and Turner, and, of course, the Impressionists and some of the Surrealists.

Another time, love,--I'm getting drunk.

[teepi]

pleasant drunks..I mean dreams....

we just put up our winter wine and stout.

I love wine...we did 10 gallons of apple and 5 of grape. We also make oatmeal stout for Larry.

nite all...

[THUDLY]

Our posts crossed--my typing was too slow.


WOW! That semi-nude I like. I would buy it (if I was rich) and hang it.

It's expressive and nicely painted.

Are you nationally known yet? I know it's hard to break in-- you almost need a rich patron.

Good luck-- you have talent!

[THUDLY]

I'm drinking home-made grape wine my 79 year-old buddy gave me, and it's starting to assert itself.


I'm going soon, but I see you have a certain talent. Maybe, I could buy something from you next year. Right now, I'm about broke.

Goodnight, teepi-- nice to meet you.

[teepi]

ha yes I am internationally collected. I have sold to people all over the US, Canada, and Guam.
I have 4 stores I sell to in SC Charleston area... I paint alot of mermaids.

I have sold over 150 paintings on Ebay and I have a handful of regular buyers.

This is all my income right now.Larry had to quit his job as he worked out of town all week and I was here alone.
So a bit of early retirement for him.
My art is very inexpensive. I sell alot of small paintings in the 15.00-50.00 range. Commisions are a bit higher.
I also give alot away...I love to share and barter.

Thank you for the kind words.

[THUDLY]

Well, I guess I ain't going to bed just yet. If you like to barter, I'm a stone-mason who actually can carve stone. Maybe I could carve you a large heart with your husband's and your name engraved? Maybe we could trade for a painting? I'll check your web-site and check out your paintings, or can you paint from photos-- maybe do my grandchrildren? Whatever, I'm interested.


Let me know, Teepi.

[THUDLY]

Perhaps you could paint my three granddaughters as mermaids-- fishy tails and their pretty faces-- like the Sirens luring Ulysses to his doom. Ulysses would be strapped to the mast with my face.


COOL!

[THUDLY]

Or, weird, anyhow. No problem: all my offspring have my sese of humor.

[Ursula Buendia]

I've read only first page and I wanna say: Internet is the best creation ever!!!! It's so romantic THUDLY! I'm just jumpin' on my chair of coolness!! :D This story is like a movie, good luck and have a nice time!!! :D

[THUDLY]

Yes, I'm an Irish, Gemini romantic, but one must remember that the world will always break your heart, and if you're Irish, it will break it slowly.

[SLOTH]

Sloth Outta Here...

[THUDLY]

THUDLY says "AMEN!" I'm too wasted (on bourbon) to say more---but, I love you alll in my half-asss way.



BAR%KEEP! ANOTHER ROUND!

[Ursula Buendia]

Yes, I'm an Irish, Gemini romantic, but one must remember that the world will always break your heart, and if you're Irish, it will break it slowly.
always will break my heart?? Why??? :( I won't.. :(
could you please remember me, what irish means? Phynkyphreshmama explained it to me once long time ago, and I forgot..