TINA LIVES is a raw and engaging, street-smart story about growing up hippie, growing up hard and coming of age while living a life that mirrors the collapse and burnout of the hippie movement by the early eighties. Recorded at Cambridge Community Television.
This is the final episode of Tina Lives! Thank you so much for listening! MUSIC CREDITS: Quivvver, Kevin MacLeod-incompetect.com, Drama Club Romance/Julian Berosh, Johnny Berosh, Musopen.org, Komiku@freepd.com, Michael Tarbox/Tarbox Ramblers, Melatonin, Jesse S. Gallagher@nightimegallagher, Migk Ware, Ronald Fulton, DÆphne, Mobygratis.com, Jeff Kaale, Baby Beets, The 7th House, Badfinger, Donovan, CSN&Y, Cat Stevens, Journey, Big Country
This is the second to last episode of Tina Lives. It is not the prettiest of pictures, but it is The Smallest Mountain Yet.
They say when you are least looking for it that’s when it arrives: love, magic, destiny all better when they arrive together.
Love is a dirty and manipulative business, and Kris loves Lill & Gary, so once again she tags along for a new adventure on the darker side of, dark and destructive.
A respite in self-destructive behavior is a welcome change when Kris discovers she is pregnant.
Kris’ proclivity for falling in love takes her down some of the most perilous streets of Little Rock.
When there is no more money & no more dirty heads, Kris reaches out to Mick Jagger, falls in love (again), and begins a dark and dangerous chapter of life.
Martha & Sue exit stage left. 1980 has its JFK moment, and Quaaludes erase the nation’s pain and Kris’ financial well-being.
“Like sands through the hour glass,” Andy’s out and Sue B. is in. Kris and Martha take it to the next level, and relocate to Boston for a New York minute.
The long awaited “R" rated episode of life takes Kris for a ride in a silver Camero.
Kris gets rowdy with a therapist, and “Disco Sucks” for some people, but not for Kris and her new gay friends.
Kris/Tina deals, more or less with Gorton’s death, discovers her fate, while the foreshadowing of her future rests heavy on her mind, spirit, and body.
Tina, now known as Kris, lives a life that mirrors the ethos of the hippies, “Radical Change.” Pivotal people present themselves, while cornerstones of the past, crumble.
At The Heartbreak Hotel, Tina discovers the essence of Gorton, touches the fleeting tendrils of tenderness, and morphs her twinkling naivety into what she hopes will be a harder, sturdier version of herself.
Thai Stick is not food, grown-ups are not always responsible, and Kathy and Tony end up on television.
Gorton cleans up his act, Tina puts her adolescence down for a nap, and Dinah Shore hosts David Bowie on her daytime chat show.
While the daffodils bloom, the winds of change come to Fayetteville, and Tina and Billy take the long way home for the very last time. This is the end of Act II.
Tina has sticky fingers, Gorton has blood on his hands, and A Family Called Us does a naked ritual.# Episode Notes Notes go here
Tina pushes Bob Tarlow right over the edge, checks out the “straight life,” and crumbles to pieces under the weight of Tea for the Tillerman.
Tina sees one too many naked people, gets a best friend, and learns about magic brownies, all while her shyness sheds and the consequences of her previous life becomes uncomfortably self-evident.
Tina goes on a matchmaking mission to unite Gorton and her chosen surrogate mother, and a Family Called Us moves into a new home of communal living.
Tina has no memory of traveling from Massachusetts to Arkansas. She only remembers her first impressions of the basement apartment, which will become her new home in Fayetteville, Arkansas with Gorton Darling Hitte.
Tina receives an unexpected phone call that changes the course of a lifetime. This is the end of Act 1. Act 2 will begin on October 19.
The family moves to a spooky house on a hill. Tina plays “school” in school, and then regrets ever having, what she considered, “the best idea ever.”
Tina loves foster care! But alas, that residence also comes to an end. In New Bedford, Mass, Tina finds beauty in a neighbor and sometimes even in her mother.
For no apparent reason, the state of Massachusetts was pulled out of a hat and the family hits the road for the East Coast. Along the way, Tina notices her mother’s beauty had faded and her demeanor had become menacing. Tina is blindsided by a pit stop on their journey.
The family heads to Northwest Arkansas to investigate living on a commune, but instead takes up residence in a house in Fayetteville. Tina is sent to the attic for weeks as punishment for an unknown crime.
The family finally makes it to a commune in Oregon, but bus-living in the winter is no fun, so they move to a house in the nearest town. Diana finds a new boyfriend; Paul leaves, but returns when Tina gets a hernia. Diana says goodbye to her boyfriend and the family heads to Sacramento, CA.
After a bit of a respite in Cleveland, the family once again takes off for the West Coast. En route, they find themselves in the middle of a violent riot that took place in Grant Park, Chicago, Ill on July 27, 1970.
Episode Notes The family’s travel adventure is often marred by Diana’s erratic and violent episodes, but the majesty of America has the power to soothe the otherwise rough road to becoming “hippies.”
Episode Notes Diana marries a social worker named Paul. They save their pennies and buy an old Vietnamese Army bus converted into a camper and the family sets off to California to join the counter-culture movement.
Episode Notes Tina’s parent’s Jim and Diana were “hip” not “square,” but also violent. The house that Tina burnt down was a refuge home after Jim broke Diana’s nose for the last time.
Episode Notes Tina, a six year old working class kid from Cleveland, burns down the house where she and her family live.