Faux History: The son of Further. In 1964, Oregon native Ken Kesey's second novel Sometimes a Great Notion demanded his presence in New York, so Kesey bought a 1939 International Harvester school bus that he and the Merry Pranksters painted in day-glo colors, and outfitted it for a cross-country trip. With Neal Cassady at the wheel, they left La Honda, California, in June 1964 and began their now legendary journey across the country, smoking marijuana, and dropping acid along the way. The top of the bus was made into a musical stage and when it detoured through some cities, the Merry Pranksters blasted a combination of crude homemade music and running commentary to all the astonished onlookers. They arrived in New York in July after an arduous journey, whereupon Neal Cassady introduced them to Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Ginsberg embraced the new legends immediately and arranged for them to drive to Millbrook to meet the other psychedelic pioneer, Timothy Leary. The real Further now collects ivy and blackberry bushes in the back 40 of the Kesey farm here in Oregon. This newer version was once sent to the Smithsonian as the real thing. As the saying goes "Never trust a Prankster!" I caught up with the son of Further, and Ken's son Zach (blue shirt to the right), at The Dead show in the Bay Area earlier this month. Needless to say, the real Further was actually the first real RV. Winnebago soon followed suit. (Click on the thumbnail to see the Acid Test poster set for the day after the show I attended, and photo of Ken). Mountain View, California; May, 2009.