The children of the counter-culture breeding became little half nude toddlers who were breast fed, wore real cotton diapers, and tie-dyed baby clothes. They had names like Rainbow, Luna, Bright Skye, and Red Dirt.
They gathered together as their moms went about raising them. The kids formed their own unit attending day care, play groups, parties, overnights, and holiday functions together. Every time the parents got together, the kids went off on their own to play as children will.
Things were fee spirited in a country setting, but in the cities they were warned: “Do not run around the streets naked.”
“Do not eat gum or candy found on the sidewalk.”
“Do not blow up the neighbor’s worm farm with fire crackers.”
So they were a little wild….
One day a Jehovah’s Witness comes to the door. Little Red Dirt’s mother warned him again, “Don’t answer it.”
Little Red Dirt doesn’t answer it but instead sticks his exceptionally long tongue out through the mail slot and says, “Fuck you!” Then he shakes his fanny at the door and runs away laughing.
“He learned that from you,” Mama says amused to Papa.
“No, he learned that from YOU!” Papa says equally amused to Mama.
The parents are having a bar-b-que. The men are cooking the chicken and standing in a circle around the fire drinking beer and passing a joint. The women are sitting at the picnic table rolling joints and taking shots of tequila. So the kids roll up eucalyptus leaves and stand in a circle in imitation, taking shots of their sodas.
Later the kids end up in a pile of sleeping bags on the floor of the living room, while their parents go off to separate sleeping quarters. The next morning they make a huge breakfast of fried potatoes, pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Everyone eats their fill. The women clean up while the men take the kids out to do some chores, clean up the yard, and play.
Life continues in this way… summers on the river, life at the beach, hikes in the forest, and oh yeah… school, until they grow up, and rebel in their own ways.
(First published 3/16/12)
