Home Free

Those of us who grew up and came of age in the 1960's had the (perhaps inflated) thought that we were making history with our Age of Aquarius ideas, musical directions, literary accomplishments and alternative living habits. There can be no denying that The Beatles and the subsequent British Invasion broke open a whole new way of celebrating and observing life, and the mind-expanding use of religion, drugs, and be-ing were the catalyst for much of what passes for ordinary life experience these days.

I've only just begun to write up my own contribution to the historical documentation of those times in the 30 Years in a Housetruck tale, available for your reading and perhaps enjoyment elsewhere on this site.

Another interesting insight into 1960's communal living is contained in the Digger's journalistic chronicle of "Home Free: A History of Two Open-Door California Communes". (Note: the Digger's journal "Home Free" should not be confused with the New Zealand book of housetrucks and buses of the same name.)

This is a rather long read, I actually took a week or two to read it slowly, chapter-by-chapter. There were quite a number of things described in the story that I could relate to from my own cooperative living experiences. Other events I could easily see happening, especially considering the wide and varied temperaments of some of my former fellow communists.

Here's a clip-and-paste from the introduction:

Not long ago, the local County museum had an exhibition focused on the 1960's and 70's in Eugene, Oregon. It proved to be a popular event, and the curators are discussing bringing it back, perhaps as a permanent exhibit.

Gee, maybe be were making history, after all. Changing the world? Well, not as much as I would have liked...