Adult 50 plus Commune Idea

Imagine me not knowing that. So.....?

 

Goose Lake was during the summer after Woodstock. It was held in Michigan, near Jackson. I seem to remember it was one day longer and had a bigger line up of bands. It was great and had a crowd I can't even guess as far as size goes. There were hundreds of thousands of Hippies walking and hitch hiking for weeks in Northern Indiana and Northern Ohio and all over Michigan. The Hippies used to greet each other with, "Peace Brother...Peace Man!" The cops used to beat the shit out of all the guys and force them to register for the draft...to be sent to Vietnam. If you happened to be under 18, they took you to Juvenile Detention and charged you with delinquency. Today that part of southern Michigan is totally controlled by the KKK. The Sheriff Department in all the surrounding counties lets KKK and Neo-Nazi types ride along in the patrol cars "ARMED" and "Arrest People" at will. If you are Dark, Muslim, or Mexican, Calhoun County and Branch County will come for you in a matter of a few minutes. Forty nine years has brought some change, but not enough.

 

I just got the purple one because I like purple. I don't know if it's supposed to mean something or not....

 

Community land trust - Wikipedia
Just an idea.

 

Religious symbols mean a variety of things to a variety of folks. Political symbolism stands out these days in America because the intolerant Republicans are so quick to anger. I have a bumper sticker which says "Kick Out The GOP" and a man who parked behind my Hippy Van the other day at the grocery just flew off the handle, got hot under the collar, and started to ejaculate (in the political sense) right there in the damned parking lot. When I went home I took out my bumper sticker which has a pentagram and says "Clergy" then I returned it to my desk. In this day and age, the Republicans might do anything to some one like me who adheres to alternative spirituality...say Wicca? Getting back to flags, I like old and torn flags, because they represent all the disenfranchised workers, the homeless, the old, the disabled, and the hungry ones. All these people are victims of Republican policies which seem to only work in favor of the very rich and upcoming corrupt government trash. An old weathered torn flag even if purple in color could realistically anger the Republican while driving a serious political point home. Let us stand together in the face of injustice my dear brother Tigger!

 

And a fine idea it is brother Tigger. I am willing to go along with any sharing plan as long as all members are protected in the legal sense, and get to live there in a fair and healthy situation. Again, the true active members who buy in should get equal voting power. I think a real lawyer in that state should draw up the agreement so all matters are spelled out, even during the scenario where a member wants out. We are talking about older folks like me and I don't want to spend my last years on this planet in a stupid inner city government apartment alone a staring at the wall, because I can't afford anything else. I know several older Hippies who waited years for the Housing Authority to grant them an apartment based on their income and ended up hating it. Often times, the apartment management recognizes a vulnerable old Hippy like that and get real abusive with him. I saw that happen in Colorado, Washington, and other places. The big advantage in our commune would be good people sharing and caring for other good people. I want to garden together, cook together, and listen to Ry Cooder and Rory Gallagher play the blues!

 

I have always wanted to vote for the name of our commune. I'm now thinking we should call it Earth People's Park. There should be a big sign up front that says RESIST so the Republicans stay out. Also, I love Okra so I want to start growing Okra right away, maybe some turnips too. I like spinach but not sure if it grows well outside California?

 

In our new commune we should consider a regular ritual where the members sit together during late mornings to share in a Japanese Tea Ceremony. Japanese culture has its foundations in polite society. It is where good human beings honor each other, as in the Namaste Greeting which are common even in places like India and Nepal. Members who wish to join should have good computer skills and gardening skills. The computer skills could be used to weed out the gun slingers and nut jobs who want to live a WACO TEXAS style life of waiting for the tumultuous end times. I would rather live with people who understand cooking with Saffron, Curcumin, Turmeric, and lots of chili powder.

 

Yep, we got to have a garden. I like working in the garden.
There are already is a place down in New Mexico for those uncivilized gun-toting types. I watched a documentary on it one time.

 

Last garden I had. 2017

 

I love it! You must have a super good rototiller? I love squash and tomatoes and tomatillos and stout Estonian Wood Chopper Women!

 

Snowtigger! I love Kentucky Pole Beans! Did you ever grow Egg Plant? My people cook the best egg plant! I can cook Greek Mousaka egg plant with shaved potatoes for you!

 

My friend I just missed the hippie era I made the punk rock era,mid to late 70’ was slightly different but had sister and cousin who wer in the love,peace,joy thing so I get ya! Strange you talk about trying to commune to make it I think it’s everybody these days,I find myself helping more and more people who are struggling as governments push to rid the country of programs to help,I’m not rich by no means but I won’t turn my back on someone who I can help even if it’s getting through for few hrs with food in belly! U have good idea but think maybe have to bridge the cap a lil! Lol hippies,punkers and heavy metal? Would be interesting to say least,no? Fine tune it and let me know,by way hear Arizona is getting costly as welll and like other member said,it’s hell 9 months out of the year,good luck keep posted?

 

I can dig it, Brother. I'm more of the sixties and seventies type. I still listen to Neil Young, CSN, Jackson Browne, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Hooker & Heat, Cooper and Bloomfield, Yes. I grew up before Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and David Bowie but like their stuff. I really like The Police, The Cars, and Fabulous Thunderbirds from the Eighties. Ry Cooder put out a great album that I got in the Eighties (Bop Till You Drop) but he did start out with Muddy Waters. From the UK side I really did like Stevie Wynwood and Traffic and Pink Floyd. Anyway, if you are into joining up, You'd be Welcome! The more poor you are the better. I love poor homeless people!

 

Thanks but nor homeless let me know when you need help setting it up

 

Homeless or not you'd be welcome. The main idea I had was to make something out of the old commune idea from the 1970s so old Hippies could come to live and share and feel safe with brothers and sisters. I have met so many who live all alone in government subsidized apartments in places like Detroit, or Buffalo. They are all alone with their TV and a little dog or cat if the apartment manager allows them to have one. Because they are old they eat frozen factory made dinners, or microwave dinners, or maybe cheap canned noodles. Now I read in the press that Trump wants to cut Medicaid & Medicare benefits so these old poor people would suffer even more, while his rich buddies enjoy the two trillion dollar cut he gifted them.

 

I am very interested in your Ideas of community. I have been trying in many ways for 20 years. I find local building and occupancy codes shut down some plans. I teamed up with two other guys ten years ago to lease and set up a place that already had buildings but the ways of making it work were too different. One guy thought he was going to receive $50k a year to manage it. The other wanted to charge outrages member fees.
Finding a place where we can grow our own food is important. I live in Reno NV. Kind of short growing season at 5000 feet. Looking for somewhere a little warmer.
I did a work study with a community that has been around since the 60s. Morehouse in Lafayette CA. they shared their many difficulties through the years and some good ways of getting along.
I now share my home with 7 women and find it much easier than when I had guys and gals here. I also see that some work hard and other hardly work at anything around the property.
It is not an easy thing to get started or find the right people. let's keep looking.

 

Thank you for your comments. I've run into similar circumstances where people don't want to pull their weight or just want to party non-stop. I started this with the idea of providing a safe and healthy place for older Hippies. I saw many living in depressing government housing. with little to no-rights at all. In Colorado the landlady and the maintenance guy just walked into the apartment when ever they felt like it, claiming they were looking for fire hazards. In many Republican controlled states like Indiana, the government does not offer additional public assistance to our kind. In other states, they offer no help with winter heating bills. Some states don't want to give you help with medical costs. In Montana my friend Patrick was put out on the street just hours after he had a stroke. He had to roll the wheel chair to the homeless shelter by himself … with one hand. Earlier during that day, he was framing homes for a living, but had no health insurance. In Indiana, they want you to buy Ambulance Insurance or be stuck with a massive bill. That's not covering all the issues and problems which come with the buying of commercially produced foods. I really would like to get a small place to house a few people and keep a small garden. This weekend I will be driving from Michigan to Oregon with a woman who does know the Eugene area well. Maybe we'll get lucky and locate a place. The Reno area is not bad. I have friends who put up a greenhouse near Fort Collins, Colorado, which produced well. They kept their hot tub inside it to provide enough humidity. Around Reno you'll need to consider the acidity of the soil, because it is volcanic. If you have boric acid from volcanic Boron then nothing will grow at all. In the Midwest the problem is too much water in the soil which causes root rot. Where I've been living, the rabbits and squirrels eat most of the young stuff even the acorn squash, pole beans, and Tomatoes.

 

This is an old post but I wanted to bring the subject back up because it is important that there be some way of having equality. It is common that many people who want to be part of a community have little to bring to it financially. When I was actively looking for a property I wrote up a two-level charter. The first level was people who bought into the landowner's council. They had made a monetary investment and had the right to make the final decisions regarding the property, infrastructure, and structures. All other leadership positions were on a six-month rotation. The intent of this was to keep anyone from burning out. People who love any particular area could still serve in it but not in consecutive leadership roles. I also included that if an owner wanted out we had up to one year to return their investment with no interest. This was to make sure no one felt they were stuck there because things change in all our lives. I have seen hard feelings in a group because someone wanted to move on and their $20,000 was something they had to just walk away from. 25 years later they still mutter about it when some names come up. I want harmony in all things if possible.

My intent here was to ask if you had written a charter or found one at an operating community that you could adopt?