Transitioning Into a Modern Hippie

okay---i was checking on the price of a pint of Ben-N-Jerry's "Nutty Buddy", which is what got me thinking: What is the formula for being a modern-day hippie? Is it going to the head shop to barter for used vinyl albums or concert tickicks of your best bands(or the most obscure--that might be even cooler)? But yeah---there must be conventions for being unconventional, so let's generate a checklist, here. I see where summa you kids discarded your old clothes---that would seem to be a faux pas; after all, hippies wear old clothes, don't they? so anyway---your turn. Edited to add: Ben and Jerry needta sell their ice cream,(vanilla Fudge, Strawberry Alarm Clock, etc.) in metric increments. Gram, CC. Kilo. etc. It will make their product more authentically hip.

Well, I think that just like Haight-Ashbury was Hippie Central back in the day, I think you can look at certain places and take your cue from the cultures there... I live in Vermont, which has a hippie-ish culture. Maybe not as much as Portland, OR. I think of hippie culture as:

• Being a "maker" or creator of pottery, jewelry, textiles, etc.
• Having "back to the land" aspirations
• Thrifting for clothes--but the clothes still have to have a coolness factor, like vintage band t-shirts.
• Participation in protests for peace, love, and justice.
• Growing your own weed and smoking it around a firepit with friends.
• Eating organic.
• Of course, following the hippie bands of the day, but I couldn't name what they are now.

So I think the basic old 60s-70s rules apply for being a good hippie today. But obviously, no one today calls themselves a hippie. The term itself is outdated and maybe even derogatory. Younger generations want nothing to do with Boomers. That's OK. They have their own thing.

Maybe you can find a hippie commune nearby?