Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Things I Miss, Part 2: Wall Posters from the 60's

We tacked them on the walls of our dorm rooms in the 60's to exhibit how "cool" we were (or so we thought!) and to announce our political leanings to anyone who cared to know.  Here is a sample of the "artwork" that adorned my own room in those formative years.

We could see from the news footage every evening that things were a mess in faraway Vietnam -- and an awful lot of young men my age were being sent there by the politcos in Washington.  Though it would take a stint of my own in the Armed Forces to become an avowed pacifist for the rest of my life, it was clear that war was a senseless waste of lives. 
 



The Beach Boys were singing about surfer girls in California.  Even land-locked as I was, surfing, I knew, had to be "cool".
 


The posters we hung also portrayed our tastes in music -- I was a "folkie" and listened to a lot of Bob Dylan.
 

Before the convenience of VHS and DVD, we took in our favorite old movies at one of the local art houses.  This was (and still is) a popular cult classic that regularly appeared at a nearby independent theatre popular with students.  Disclaimer:  That I owned the poster is not an admission that I actually inhaled!



These old posters capture a whisper of who I was... or wanted to be seen as... over four decades ago.  Yet, looking at them now, I do recognize the seeds of who I am today beginning to germinate.

Peace, man! 

1 comment:

  1. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."

    Why isn't when you speak of your service, Apocalypse Now quotes stream through my head!

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