Where's The "Flower Child" Now?

Awhile back, I wrote an article called Whatever Happened To The Child Of Peace? ... and since this is now a "boomers" blog (though everyone's welcome to read and comment), I thought we'd inaugurate it by reprinting it here:

The summer of 1967 was one of the most vocal and radical in the history of America. Nationally, we were embroiled in political scandals, racial injustice - and a horrible war in Vietnam.
The country was firmly divided into two separate groups - Doves, who believed the war was wrong and that our military should pull out and come home, and the Hawks, who thought we should not only be fighting in Vietnam, but maybe even take it a step farther and decimate China, who was allegedly bolstering the North's manpower.
Here in America, though, thousands of young people, who were turned onto peace, love and inner guidance, were rising up in protests of the fighting. Some history books will say they were "doves", while others say they were "high on drugs and Indian music." Many of us were there, and we were simply looking at it all with logic. Is peace better than war? Love than hate? Inner guidance better than outer control?
So they began putting the pressure on Washington - from sit-ins to open-air festivals to outright marches - and, by 1969, President Nixon began feeling the pressure and reduced troop numbers. Slightly over three years later, the war was over.
In 1968, the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King resulted in widespread violence and looting - a grim climax to the years of struggle for African-American equality. Once again, young, hip whites and blacks were on the scene, united in the cause of peace. And they knew they'd have their hands full: On the one, they tried to calm nerves of both blacks and whites; on the other, they protested the inequality loudly. From the streets of LA to Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, they took the message that Dr. King had conveyed time and again: that all people, of all races, should work together and given equal rights in this country.
The pressure eventually worked, and society slowly began to realize the importance of true, interracial brotherhood.
More important changes were made by the protesters and marchers. The voting age was finally lowered to 18, and women were beginning to be treated as more than sex objects - they were finally being viewed as equals in the marketplace, employment field and in places of authority.

Now, this is continued on our Mouse Clique blog.

MODELING ... CARS!

When we were young, we all loved those little model kits from which we built nifty cars, planes and the like. They bring pleasant memories of a simpler time, and how we wanted to grow up and have a real car -- just like the one we just built from a model kit!
Well, today you can still get those famed kits from which you built plastic model cars -- and more! The prices are very affordable, and you can even get the paints and supplies you need to make these cars shine!
So, if you liked building model cars, tanks or planes back then -- you're going to love the folks behind that link you just passed a moment ago! Go ahead ... click there now, and you'll end up with hours of fun ... and a wonderful model when it's all done!