It’s the Double-Dog Dare-Ya Days of Summer … and by double-dog, I am of course referring to canna (dog) and bis (two) combining into Cannabis (weed.) Or to get even Further out, to the Dog-Star Sirius, from whence our sacred plant is said to come.
Speaking of stars and Cannabis and why it all matters, there was a recent event in San Francisco — a gathering of the tribe — a psychedelic summit on Bicycle Day, April 19, the anniversary of Albert Hoffman’s first intentional acid trip in 1943.
Featuring a panel of elders, artists and outlaws, original Merry Prankster and tribal matriarch, Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Garcia regaled a rapt audience with stories about life on the road with THE original Merry Prankster, liberator (and distributor) of the VA’s experimental supply of LSD, bestselling author, creator of the famous psychedelic bus Further and it’s mind-blowing 1964 cross-country trip, and ringleader of the infamous Acid Tests, Ken Kesey.
Beaming with pride over born-on-the-bus daughter with Ken, Sunshine Kesey, also on the panel, MG makes it her mission to pass the traditions and wisdom of the core tribe on to future generations: Question authority. Be kind to each other. Share consciousness-raising sacraments like marijuana and LSD. Pursue personal freedom and independence. Keep the show on the road. Keep the consciousness-raising psychedelic community intact and happening. Create events that bring people together and try new things — TOGETHER — in each other’s actual presence, because that’s when the magic happens. And perhaps most radical of all, have fun. Or to quote the Original Prankster, you can be subversive just by giggling a lot.
For those who are embarking on such a journey, MG’s advice for being…as in surviving…On the Bus is that you have to be okay with not knowing where you’re going. Which pairs well with Kesey’s adage, “Since we don’t know where we’re going, we have to stick together in case someone gets there.”
So where’s the dare? It was written in grafitti on the 5th Street off-ramp back in the day: It takes guts to have fun!
