Okay I know that this is a little late. But I wanted to comment on Arlo's Farm Aid preformance, and really to thank him for waking up a dormant bug inside of me. One of the main reasons I went to Farm Aid was to see Arlo, and when he started playing Alice's Resturaunt I was the happiest person in the world. It really did make me realise that we are in a war though. I think we so often forget, because we are not so connected with it anymore. But people ARE dying and it could be me (a twenty tear old college student) if things get bad enough. I just wanted to let Arlo, and everyone else know, that a movement is possible I think. And if the day does come when I am forced to go to that little office, I will walk in, sing a bar of Alice's Resturaunt... and see what I can do about walking out.

Hi.

I just discovered this forum. I looked it up because this morning I mentioned Alice's Restaurant to three classes of college Freshmen, just to wake them up, and as part of a little blurb on doing research. I asked them how many of them knew about the song. At the 9:am class, nobody raised a hand. At the 10:30, one wise-eyed soul acknowledged. By the noon class, five had awakened to the point that they were willing to admit awareness. I figure that this was probably a more accurate number for all three classes, but if they'd raised their hands, they might have had to discuss it, and that was a bit too much for 9:am.

Point is, I was a little glad that the response was so light. It tells me that these kids aren't up in arms about the draft. They don't yet have to be.

How we've made it this far past 9/11 without a draft, I'll never figure. I was teaching in the same room on that morning, and after dismissing classes, put my head in my hands and cried for them, certain that they'd all be at war within far too short a time.

Now, this morning's students are e-mailing me. They've looked it up. They've downloaded it. They think it's a funny song, but realize that this must all have been "very serious" back then.

"Very serious." Oh, my lord.

I just hope with all my heart that they can stay at 9:am for awhile longer.

Arlo: thanks for making us think back then, and making them think now.

Or later.

Hi, Vickie. I'm a non-trad college student and have a son who is now a junior. When he was a freshman, he was pledging a frat and made dinner one night for the frat princess or whatever she is called. She wanted the last dinner roll and Eric said, "you can have whatever you want." His pledgemaster looked up at him and said, "oh, just like Alice's Restaurant?" Eric was a "closet Arlo fan" and now knew it was "OK" to come out. Turned out a few of the boys knew the song.

Since then, Eric's gone to quite a few shows with me, and has volunteered at The Church. But on Thanksgiving, we have to take 2 cars... so he can listen to his Thanksgiving singer, Jimi... go figure!

That song is not just a comedy..........it is a marker for that genertion who believed so strongly in not killing other young frightened innocent people , just as I hope we know see ourselves as young frightened and innocent. Arlo heralded a generation back then that did not want to kill for patriotism....wanted ANSWERS,why? Why should young frightene boys ill other young frightened young boys,why sould babies die,why should children who held bombs in honor of dying so that their families might be honored by their deaths also be honored by their lives,Alice's Restaurant was not a novelty song,it was a song about sanity in the face of insurmountable insanity,teach it to Abe now,and Sarah Lee and Johnnyto Krishna, to Mo,it is THEIR voices that have to bring the song HOME to us and OUR children.........PEACELOVEand REASON

I hear Sarah Lee already knows it...

Just wanted to say that a tradition in our house every Thanksgiving, right after a huge Thanksgiving dinner, is to play 'Alice's Restaurant'. My kids, now in their 20's and 30's, not only know the album, they would be sorely disturbed if I didn't play it.

From one folksinger to another....
Love ya Arlo!

Frank Gregg
http://www.frankgregg.com

I myself am a 20 year, non-student though. I'm currently just floating along, but leading a steady life, and it is in the back of my head all the time that at any moment the draft could be re-instated (I'm reminded by such cause of the Selective Service's Card that's in my back pocket that would have been a crime if I didn't get it). This tour has brought things in to perspective for me seeing as how 40 years ago wasn't really all that long....... hell just double my age. The only reason I can see for them having not re-instated the draft yet is fear of political back-lash. We live in a much different time now, all-be-it much less in-your-face open time. Now any of us at just a few clicks of a little device for some reason or another named a mouse, we can find information on anything from all around the world. We can turn our TV's to some corporately hi-jacked air-wave and get propaganda passed off as news 24 hours a day......... and most importantly we can communicate with people all over the world in mere seconds........ So of course Smiley-Glad Hands is going to be alot more careful about what s/he does..... Because they do fear this up and coming generation and are doing everything they can to tread lightly so we lose our ambition....... I say this coming from the city of Memphis where on the surface apathy has run-a-muck. But in the tightest circles you see everyone thinking of some way to make a change........ and that's exactly what it's going to take all of the activist coming out of their cloak of apathy and taking back what is ours...... Our city, state, and national governments, but before any of that can occur we need to take back our air-waves and print media....... Take back our energy sources..... People have been pondering the problem for years as to how we are going to become less dependent on things such as crude oil..... and it's been growing all over the place.... Many people I know have been using it for years...... and the most amusing thing to me is that what could be our worlds saving grace is pressently illegle because of coporate greed. Industrial hemp has very few natural parasites, can grow in most in climate (in our country anyways), does minimal damage to the soil, and can be used for anything from clothing to paper, to cosmetic oils, to a source of protien and even fuel.......

Sorry to have gotten (slightly) off subject, but the point I'm attempting to drive at here is if we all commit our self to change of thought about the world and realize that it's just us, people, then anything can be accomplished........ Even making it so no person will ever have to be drug off and have an M16, or anything of the likes, thrown into their hand to kill other innocent people who have commited no crime, except being born into a country controlled by a Gov't that "our gov't" views as the enemy...... and since when was that any kind of crime?