Yes, I came to the hippie movement too late to enjoy those early innocent days of the "summer of love". The whole thing had turned kind of dark by 1968, and I got into it beginning around '69. A lot of bad stuff had happened by then, and it just got worse after that. Most of the people were Johnny-come-latelys, as you say, and much of the optimism had vanished. Matter of fact, it was becoming a sort of undeclared war mentality...with disaffected youngsters on one side, the police, the army, and Nixon on the other.

I got hassled by police many times because of the long hair and general appearnance, but they were Toronto cops, so they didn't beat me up, at least. Just bothered me.

I wore a lot of leather and denim, fringed jackets, wide leather belt, and a leather hat, and Frye boots, but never the tie-dyed stuff or the beads.