Freebie

When I was on the road and working as a folksinger, my favorite word was freebie. A freebie is something for free. In the counter-cultural world of the Beats, Bohemians, and Folkies, I associated with it was a frequent vocabulary item. Many of us didn’t have much bread (money), and a freebie coffee or meal was always welcome.

Bartering was also a good option when a freebie was not possible. Some of my early carvings were wooden jewelry—pendants and earrings. I bartered them in exchange for sofa-surfing privileges at friend’s apartments while I was in town. My nocturnal coffeehouse, folksinging lifestyle still needed someplace to crash for sleep when I wasn’t on the hustle. Friends did not tiptoe around me in the morning. I was a sound sleeper.

I recently rediscovered a list I’d made in 1969 of all the places I’d crashed in the previous year. Including the rooms I had rented, I listed twenty-seven other locations, and I knew the list was far from complete. Except the rented rooms, all the accommodations had been freebies

I imagine a small pile of mail somewhere in some post office. It’s marked as undeliverable and has bounced around most of the East Coast and elsewhere since the sixties. Let’s see angry letters from former girlfriends, a fan letter from my only fan, a few bills, and an odd birthday card.

It might be interesting to hear what the former girlfriends had to say.