I've republished this post from another blog I frequent. I just posted this comment there in response to a post by the owner on a trip he made to Santa Monica and his comments about the 'Bums' he saw there... I thought you folks might enjoy it..

You brought back some serious memories for me. My dad used to call EVERYBODY he saw on the streets, especially those long haired hippie types, BUMS. Everybody got that label... Including ME BTW LOL since I spent a good portion of 70's with mega long hair.. He owned a construction company here in Indy for over 50 years and his office/warehouse was located in a rather seedy part of town. I remember driving to that office a number of times when I was just a kid with him and him railing about all the BUMS who populated the streets around his business... That office/warehouse is still there, the area has gotten even WORSE and oh my, I can STILL hear him, driving that big ol Oldsmobile 98 he ALWAYS had.. Bums, look at those bums... You better not be like those BUMS son!! Then he'd hock up a HUGE looogie and let it fly out the window... He was ALL class eh? You did NOT want to sit in the back seat behind him, trust me...