Born into the Tumultuous ’60s
By Lexx
With the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, watching the Rolling Stones make Ed twinge, then watching the Who thoroughly trash their guitars on stage, was the time etched forever in my mind as the birth of the hippie generation.
Many of the famous activists were personal heroes of us as hippies, watching as these peaceful war-riors did battle with the dark forces opposing our freedoms, bringing back a little of our dignity with each win.
McCarthy was still alive when we were young, though we knew little of what it had done to our personal liberties; we knew we were forced to comply with draconian laws.
The honor granted to me as a photographer and journalist are these sometimes fleeting glimpses of and even rarer moments together with these living legends, such as, Tony Serra, Wavy Gravy, Mountain Girl, Jerry Beisler, and more, at events, like Deep Green, that I have covered.
These great experiences are why I am taking the time to write a bit about who they are and why they matter.
Tony Serra
The unstoppable, legendary attorney whose tireless devotion to the cause is documented in the movie True Believer. Tony fought for the freedom of an innocent man who was framed for a Chinatown gang murder. The truth of what had happened was kept quiet so that a snitch who actually committed the murder could keep being an informant for the police.
He defended such notables as Huey Newton, Brownie Mary, Dennis Peron, even members of the Symbionese Liberation Army and Earth First!
He won the case for Judy Bari against the FBI!
Tony took a vow of poverty, which he has maintained through all the years as expression of ’60s values, becoming an issue with the IRS. All profits in his cases go to other attorneys helping others deserving help.
Tony spent several years in Lompoc Prison for refusing to pay taxes to support the war in Iraq.
Pictures never truly capture the fire in the soul of these true master wordsmiths that help those blinded by ignorance awaken and see through their prejudice and malcontent. Court decisions that give rise to understanding the impact of the injustice of an unevenly biased judicial system are few and far between. Tony did more than his share to place boul-ders on the side of the scale of justice for our rights.
Wavy Gravy
is the Zen Trickster of the clown world. With humor in all his under-takings, he has been able to convince doctors and many patrons to help humble, blind men, women, and children to be able to see again.
The SEVA Foundation offers a gift of sight and help from the heart of a Zen master. Wavy, not content enough with that amazing accomplishment, also put togeth-er Camp Winnarainbow, a circus and performing arts camp
for inner-city children and adults who have “forgotten how to lighten up and let loose.” I am particularly fond of his work with children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
Wavy’s commitment to healing the world with laughter is his legacy.
Part of this same troupe of entertainment-centered tricksters is the woman who captured Jerry Garcia’s heart: Carolyn Garcia, aka Mountain Girl. Being part of this Deep Green fest, she is spreading the family-rooted work of the REX Foundation whose Grateful Dead-fueled foundation gives money to worthy causes. The sparkle in her eye speaks volumes of the music Jerry has serenaded her with and the heart of gold she manifests with this blessed foundation.
Michael Gosney
The producer of Deep Green fest, is another producer of international events centered on changing this paradigm of unawakened environmental damage by synchronistically harmonizing at the same moments in time with others who have the conscious intent of shifting the consciousness of
the world to thinking, acting, and being peaceful beings. Earthdance is a worldwide music event, manifesting healing conscious thought by creat-ing peaceful vibrations with music and dance all over the world at the same time.
Buddhists hold to the belief that the continuous chanting of the different sutras in each of the temples around the world keeps the peaceful energy flowing to all troubled beings. Ceremonies include ones like Liberating Life which frees animals from the fate of becoming dinner by buying them at the mar-kets and freeing them back into nature or the waters or seas they came from, granting the possibility of freedom from false imprisonment by transference of merit.
Jerry Beisler
He’s a successful counterculture historian whose book Bandit of Kabul captures a unique perspective. Jerry was part of the first American hippie entourage to venture and stay in the famous hash regions of Nepal, India, and Afghanistan.
Jerry was also deeply involved in the music scenes of the early roots of rock and roll, and he was the first to do many of the things we take for granted today, like design bud T-shirts or buy and sell seeds.
Born into the Tumultuous ‘60’s – Doctors include Dr. Todd Mikurya now deceased, whose pioneer-ing work and devotion to this medicine is why we have the medical world reawakening to this most ancient of remedies.
Doctors have taught other doc-tors the value, use, and integrity of cannabis, such as Dr. David Bearman who has been helping pioneer the free clinics movement and has been outspoken on cannabis since the ’60s. His contemporary, Dr. Frank Lucido has taken to the courts to support patients and doctors, and to educate lawmakers any-where he can be of assistance.
If not for the bravery of doctors to stand besides patients like Elvy Mussika she would not have gotten her federal medical card. This transformed Elvy into a darling of our movement, speaking in every state, demonstrating that cannabis does not make you crazy, or such nonsense, that it does heal, maintains Elvy’s eyesight, and makes her the fire of truth that cannot be extinguished. Elvy is a mother speaking truth to power.
