I’m remembering a hippy party at my house about 1972. Probably forty to fifty people, no furniture, wall to wall rug, only large paisley patterned pillows on the floor. Spaghetti and meatballs was the provided dish, everything else was potluck and came in overwhelming quantities. Drink was Mountain Red wine, ginger ale and iced rose hips tea.
About half the people had smoked dope, a dubbie was being passed around. Several people had brought a bag of $15 dope and several people were rolling the joints. A few other drugs were being tested. The clothing was pure hippy, with tie dyed, multi-colors, the air had the smell of patchouli incense and Visohex the anti-bacterial soap.
Everyone had a contact high. The mood
was uber optimistic. We were creating a new world with goodness,
kindness, gentleness and imagination as the keystones. Everyone was a
friend and no negative thoughts were ever seen or heard. Everyone
talked to anyone next to them and the universal topics were
astrological sign, healthy food or the excitement of something new that
everyone was going to do soon. Excitement was the only sensation, but
conversation was slow and gentle.
The world outside was grim, with population and starvation near at hand.
We had each other and we would save the world. Warmth and pleasure were everywhere. The clues that any particular person wanted to have sex with me were overt, and vice versa. If the clues were obvious we left the common space to have sex. Sexual foreplay involved very little talk, mostly physical response. Massage, kissing, dancing and hugging. No condoms only diaphragms, the pill and IUD‘s. Men would ask casually ‘are you handling birth control?’
Nearly everyone was within the same age range. At most one or two blacks, one Asian and no Latinos.
Absolutely no one had any known responsibility such as a job or children, although some people actually had one or both; any sense of responsibility was not visible in the room. Sex was usually in couples but not always. Gay/straight was not an issue. People responded to the kind of person they were looking for. Men kissed and hugged each other, sometimes out of macho bravado. There were 2/3rd couples who came together and often left together, most people lived with room mates of either sex.
Parties started at 8-9 for food, music was loud, rock Lps, often stereo or pseudo-quadraphonic. People left at 1-2pm with many fast asleep in the floor until morning. (The art is by Hessam Abrishami.)