Notes From the Edge of Paradise
Another full day filled with incredible experiences to fill my soul. I started the day moderating a film and a discussion afterwards. The movie is titled The Edge of Paradise. It is a poignant story about a group of young people who gathered on the island of Kauai and lived there from 1969 to 1977. First there were thirteen hippies living on the beach that got thrown in jail for just hanging out. The brother of Elizabeth Taylor, Howard Taylor bailed them out and let them live on his seven acres just up the coast. They named it Camp Taylor. Soon many others gathered there. Some were soldiers that had fought in Viet Nam. Most were just young people who were tired of the war and the toxic world we were creating.
They were naked most of the time and lived in tree houses and enjoyed their new found freedom. They formed families, had babies and created community. The film was touching in a lot of ways. They wanted to live somewhere where it was safe and they could be themselves. The contrast between the graphic pictures of that horrible war and the love and caring they found made me weep. I cried for all the young men who had their lives, cut short by a war that should never have occurred. I cried tears of joy for those who found their paradise. They were my tribe. The local people eventually became jealous of the Taylor campers and created laws to force them out. The filmmaker interviewed many of the former campers and lots of them said it was the greatest time of their lives.
Later in the day, the director gave me a huge coffee table book titled Camp Taylor with all the pictures from the movie. He knew that I had something to do with getting this movie in our festival and wanted to thank me. I cried again for his kindness. From my very blessed heart to yours, Thomas