PSYCHEDELIC STREETS

by Gary Hansberger

The turbulent times of thesixties, unrequited love, a lack of parental understanding, and a dream ofmusical success influence the author as an innocent youth to set out on ahitchhiking journey around the country carrying only a guitar and a change of clotheswith a stranger from Colorado.¿ Reality clashes with naiveteas a small town midwestern boy sees firsthand thereal world.¿ Turned on by sex, drugs, androck 'n roll he finds the streets to be psychedelic.

280 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nancy Deusterman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a 3 and a half. This book came from a friend of a friend, and I found it very interesting, well written in an unusual style, and absorbing. It’s a memoir about the 60s/70s hippy experience. I was the same age at the same time, but went through it with more of a pack of Jesus Freaks. So I always wondered, a little, what the more serious hippies’ experiences were like. This guy actually “tunes in, turns on, and drops out”! After one year of college in Iowa, leaves a note for Mom and Dad, takes a backpack and his guitar, and joins a just-met vet to go hitchhiking around the country. They get picked up by a variety of characters, some of whom are very creepy and crazy, and a little dangerous. They crash with friends, wear out welcomes, sleep in parking lots, smoke a lot of weed, and eventually get to San Francisco just in time to miss out on the highest points of the “summer of love”, and other far out action. But still manage to hook up with quite a few like-minded dropouts, who turn them on to the best quality LSD in graduating strengths. He describes pretty happy acid trips. They find various shelters without paying rent, share food in groups, often go hungry, and for awhile, justify shoplifting groceries. They do worry about the threat of the draft into the Vietnam War, but don’t get involved in any political action or demonstrations. The author is a singer songwriter and poet, and includes the lyrics to several songs, which are a little hard to appreciate without being able to hear the tunes. But I really liked how he used titles or lyrics of popular songs of the time for his chapter titles.
I enjoyed the book, and learned some things, but I hesitate to recommend it to some of my more conservative Christian friends, because there is some offensive language and alternate lifestyle described.
I think I might like to find myself at a party with this guy, where I could compare notes on some road trips. I had a great one with a friend where we picked UP a couple hitchhikers and took them with us through a few states!