Some things in life were made to be together-
Peanut butter and jelly
Salt and pepper
Sneezing and Kleenex
Hippies and Patchouli
The first 3 mentioned pairings speak for themselves. I believe it would be fairly safe to say that one could continue to flourish without the other. Not so with the 4th pairing.
I can’t be certain that this question will ever be answered….
Which came first the hippie or patchouli?
The answer, whichever it may be, does nothing to hinder the fact that the hippie will cease to exist without patchouli, and vice versa.
Wearing peace signs, tie dye clothing, Lennon glasses, and trooping around in Jesus Joggers (sandals to those in the know), does not a hippie make. The true hippie foregoes showering, shaving, and basic hygiene. It is hard to work cleanliness into a daily routine which involves crowding your brood into VW Van and traveling to the next Grateful Dead or Phish show. To remedy the situation….patchouli is the only answer. It masks the various body odors that only the body can produce when not being cleaned for days on end. It leaves the wearer smelling like a really dirty flower.
I have never worn patchouli. I have had the opportunity to hang around enough hippies to recognize the smell. You wonder why they are always showing the peace sign?…..they always receive the peace and quiet they need because of the rancid hippie cologne they wear.
If patchouli were somehow eradicated from the Earth like the dinosaurs, I am quite certain that the hippie fad would also. Until then we all have to put up with the Bonaroo and Burning Man festivals and various other hippie events which attempt to capture the majesty and magic of Woodstock. Sadly that was a different time and a previous generation who actually had passion for their beliefs.
Peace
Good2begone 