My parents married at the tail end of the hippie movement. They met at IBM in N.Y. but left and traveled across the country to California in a green bus. Communal life wasn’t for them though, so they returned to the east coast, and my father opened a bicycle shop in a small N.Y. college town. They played their flute and recorder in front of the local co-op, raised their own vegetables, ground their own flour and listened to the music of the 70’s on their record player. The bittersweet songs of Seals and Crofts epitomize that time period of my early childhood, particularly the song, “King of Nothing”. I feel like it captures the hopes and dreams that young people have, and at times, the delusions. In many ways, life was good and peaceful, but the “back to the land” movement that many felt was right did not change anything in the world. Time passes quickly, children grow up, circumstances change. Each generation thinks or hopes they can make a difference, but they are doing well if they can raise a happy family. In that respect, I will be eternally grateful to my parents who gave the best they could to each other and their daughters. Perhaps, that is one reason why I get so nostalgic, and tears come to my eyes when I hear those poignant songs.
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