Trippy Tribe Jive

Earthman dismisses Kunga as Screwy Louie. "I think that maybe he's in his own private Idaho," he scoffs. A 39-year-old free-lance house painter and illustrator, Earthman lives with his dog in a converted school bus in South Dade. "He's a legend in his own mind," he goes on. "He fancies himself a great teacher or Buddha or something. I think he's kind of an egocentric, pied-piper wannabe."

Not only is Earthman an original member of the Sunday gatherings, he has been visiting the Grove since the early Seventies. As soon as he saves enough money to pay off some outstanding speeding tickets and reapplies for his revoked driver's license, he plans to register his bus and become mobile again. "I never used to pay tickets," he says matter-of-factly. "I just thought it was a lot cheaper to keep running from the cops."

He winces when called antisocial. "I'm not antisocial. I'll talk to anyone. I'm a people person," he declares. "But people have a tendency to flock together with their own kind; people who think like they do and act like they do and look like they do. It's not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It's about togetherness and people. We all have a right to live free and be happy."

Space Hippie, for one, says he is able to live mostly true to Rainbow tradition even in the modern world. He has some friends who grow organic food, others who hold drum circles on the beach, and many who don't worship money. He hopes a new generation will carry on his example, but he's not counting on a popular revival. "Basically, society has tried to stamp out the dream of the Sixties, and Miami just doesn't have that extended community it used to," he concedes, then hisses, "Even I put on a suit and tie and cut my hair on occasion to get a job.