GRANDFURTHUR4

The center of gravity while
the Merry Pranksters
were conducting the
Acid Tests was the corner of
Haight and Ashbury in
San Francisco
Not far away...
Ken Kesey had been in the middle of the bohemian
beatnik scene at Stanford and Palo Alto among
writers, artists, musicians, researchers, thinkers and tinkerers.
The early sixties were an amazing time
where the rules of social behaviour were
being rewritten for the following generations.
The straight world no longer dictated how we
were supposed to conduct our lives.

Having already written several highly acclaimed novels,
Kesey decided during the summer of 1964, to collect
his friends and set off on the adventure of being the novel!
The literal road trip was chronicled in
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by Tom Wolfe.

Everything necessary to carry on a
full-tilt-boogie experiment was loaded onto the Bus.
Rigged for sound, speakers mounted inside and outside
spread the psychedelic inspired riffs and music.
On the road, the ambient noise was overcome
by the pranksters communicating with each other and
the outside world through microphone equipped headphones.

Helloooooo
anyyyyyy
onnnnnne
ooouuuttttt
therrrrrrre
???
Artist Roy Sebern led the charge to paint the bus
inside and out in glorious dayglo, pastel, oil, acrylic and chalk.
But you couldn't paint the tires!
Neal Cassady said
"don't paint the tires".
Couches, benches, and cushions were loaded.
The clang of the school bell,
"all aboard"
the bus is moving.

Furrrrrttthhhhhheerrrrrrrrr