IH Sighting, sort of...

[Rob Hughes <robhughes100@domain.elided>]

Harvesters,

I just finished reading Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", an
account of the early days of the hippie/psychedelic/LSD movement.

The central characters, known as the Merry Pranksters, were living in the Bay
area, experimenting with LSD, communal living, and the like. In 1965 (or was
it '64? I could check but it doesn't really matter), they decided to take
their show on the road.  They wanted to road trip out to the World's Fair in
NY, then visit Dr. Leary -- the leader of the 'East Coast' LSD movement.

Anyway, they bought -- of all things -- a 1939 International Harvester school
bus.  They painted it in vivid Day-Glo swirls and set off cross-country,
marking the beginning of what most people consider "The Sixties."

I think it's pretty cool that an IHC vehicle was such a central part of what
eventually became a vast cultural upheaval.  It's also pretty ironic, given
the political/social leanings of most of the people on this digest.


A side note: This IH addiction of mine is getting worse.  The other night,
while watching The Simpsons, I sat bolt upright when Homer walked by what I
thought was a blue Scout parked on the street.  Eventually I convinced myself
that there is no way the animators were trying to draw a Scout. 

Besides, it looked more like a '70s Cherokee.


Rob H.