Hard to fathom that Alan Watts died 50 years ago today. No one was better at articulating Eastern philosophy and religion for Western sensibilities than Watts. Add to that a God given voice and the driest of humor, and you had a winning combination. The irony was Watts lifestyle was about as far from what he was an expert on as one could get. To me that was really his charm. He did not have that irritating 'emptier than thou' vibe that so many of the white West Coast hippie Buddhists had. I can't think of any other single person who was more important in bridging beatnik and hippie culture either. He was always there in the background through the 50's and 60's in the SF Bay Area.

My girlfriend at the time and I saw Watts speak at UCSC in 1970. He was truly wonderful. Some UCSC students were giving him some shit for something he said that wasn't politically correct. UCSC was way ahead of its time for being offended by everything. I had the honor of hearing one of his most famous quotes when he first said it that night in response to the irate students: "I am not a Buddhist, I am a philosophical entertainer." I was so impressed with Watts I stayed after to meet him. He chain-smoked, smelled like a gin factory, and spent the whole time trying to pick-up my girlfriend. That made me even like him more! This was my kind of guru!

Watts had both feet firmly seated in Samsara with addictions to tobacco, alcohol, and chasing skirts. He was my drunken master! A couple of years after we saw him those habits took him out at 58 on this day in 1973. Om Mani Padme Hum, you marvelous fucker!