"My Acid Trip With Groucho" . . . by Paul Krassner . . .

[OneBlueSky]

and featuring connections to Timothy Leary, Charles Manson, Otto Preminger, Lenny Bruce, Ram Dass, and Jerry Rubin . . . originally appeared in High Times Magazine, Feb 1981 . . . via Metafilter . . .

http://www.sirbacon.org/4membersonly/groucho.htm



We had long periods of silence and of listening to music. I was accustomed to playing rock 'n' roll while tripping, but the record collection here was all classical and Broadway show albums. After we heard the Bach "Cantata No. 7 Groucho said, "I may be Jewish, but I was seeing the most beautiful visions of Gothic cathedrals. Do you think Bach knew he was doing that?

Later, we were listening to the score of a musical comedy Fanny There was one song called "Welcome Home," where the lyrics go something like, "Welcome home, says the clock", and the chair says, "Welcome home," and so do various other pieces of furniture. Groucho started acting out each line; as if he were actually being greeted by the duck, the chair and so forth. He was like a child, charmed by his own ability to respond to the music that way.

There was a point when our conversation somehow got into a negative space. Groucho was equally bitter about institutions such as marriage ("like quicksand") and individuals such as Lyndon Johnson ("that potato-head"). Eventually, I asked, "What gives you hope?

Groucho thought for a moment. Then he said just one word out loud: "People."

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http://www.sirbacon.org/4membersonly/groucho.htm