I don’t know if you are still collecting stories, etc., but on the off chance you are I thought I’d send mine along with the poster.

1. I first moved to Atlanta in the summer of 1968.

2. I moved to Atlanta to see what the whole Hippie movement was about and also to spread my wings and fly after two years of Jr. College in Bradenton, FL.  Five of us drove to Atlanta from Bradenton.  We got there in the early evening and started looking for a place to “crash.”  We tried house after house on 14th St.  Finally we went to the Catacombs, a blues bar on the corner of 14th St. and Peachtree St.  We ran into a man called PaPa John.  He invited us to dinner at his home way out somewhere.  He had about 3 or 4 children and his wife made spaghetti for supper.  We went back to the Catacombs after that and met a biker named Monkey who said we could crash at his apt. because he wasn’t going back there.

The next day I rented an efficiency apt. at 181 14th St.  I met a lot of very nice people living there.  While there I sold The Great Speckled Bird at various street corners.  I also would spare change people for some cash.  I remember meeting a guy named Beano who was somehow my cousin many times removed.  He was from Mississippi.  Two guys named Charlie and Stevie were acquaintances of mine then as well.  I remember going to a 4th of July Parade and a bunch of us stopping the parade in a protest.

3. My best experience associated with the strip was the people.  There was a community there that was caring and felt safe like a family.

4. My worse experience was moving out of the community to Peachtree Hills.

5. I learned from that time in my life that all people are family members waiting to be met.

6.  Like I mentioned above, I lived at 181 14th St. for several months.

Peace,

sally