Allen Ginsberg

The summer of 1968 held a world erupting. Chicago in August was particularly ripe. Of all the people that were seen and heard in Lincoln Park during the Democratic Convention -- from Jean Genet to Norman Mailer -- I really only rubbed shoulders with Allen Ginsberg, who was leading chanting of "Om" while sitting yogi style in the grass. I seemed to be one of the few who took this seriously and sat right next to him, sure that the sound of our voices was going to end the war right then and there.

Timothy Leary and Abbie Hoffman and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I saw them all on stage behind microphones during that time. But I'm not counting concerts in the tabulation of interludes with fame. Otherwise, i'd have to have pages and pages of references to Jefferson Airplane (who played for free every time someone sneezed) and the Velvet Underground and Jimi Hendrix and Cream and The Mothers of Invention and Miles Davis (at the Quiet Knight, where I was close enough for Miles to spit on) and many, many others.