An official account of the origin of 420

brought to you by Camp Clovenhoof historians (PLEASE SPREAD THIS TALE IN
ORDER TO EDUCATE THE MEDICATED MASSES)



San Rafael High School, May 1971:

Another school year sunk quietly into the abyss of oblivion for a group of malcontent Robert Heinlein worshippers, the self proclaimed Waldo Club. Slinking through the halls of their high school wearing hand made spacesuits and styling their greasy hair into decidedly "un-hip" coiffures, these obscure outcasts were commonly chastised by jocks, cheerleaders and tree-hugging hippies. Waldo Dave wanted badly to be cool like his rebellious hippie brother Frank and garnered a great deal of jealousy for the more popular after school clubs. However to this point, his attempts to popularize a massive zeal for the wonders of the futuristic world of science fiction invention had only earned he and his comrades ridicule.

So at 4 o'clock, on a sun-drenched day in June of 1971, Waldo Dave, Waldo Curtis, Waldo Rudolpho, Waldo Larry and Waldo William met behind the water tower, north of the football field to discuss the development of time travel devices and x-ray goggles. But none of them were prepared for what would take place 20 minutes after four on that fateful day.

As Waldo Larry introduced the day's agenda: goggle testing at the community pool on June 14th, spacesuits that badly needed mending and dry cleaning, a snag in the wormhole theories posited by Waldo Rudolpho the week before, and doling out responsibilities for the annual Waldo Club Bake Sale (rapidly approaching), Waldo Dave whipped out something the Waldo boys had never laid their virgin eyes on. It was short, small and white at first glance. Waldo Larry would later describe the object's appearance as similiar to that of an alien pod or some sort of space cocoon. Waldo Dave called it a "doobie".

He had stolen the foreign object from his brother Frank who fought furiously the previous evening with an angry case of the runs. Waldo Dave happened upon the doobie while digging through Frank's underwear drawer in search of old dress socks he hoped to use as fragment filters to protect against the perilous hazard of spagettification, one of the many dangers of time travel. The doobie was vaguely familiar to him. He recalled a number of Saturday afternoons when Frank and his hippie friends would huddle in the corner of the yard, while mother and father were away at bible study, and would light the doobie cocoon to smoke from its hidden contents. Shortly thereafter the group would appear overcome with laughter and hunger. Voraciously, they would rip through the leftovers in the fridge, eating all of Waldo Dave's pudding pops and bellowing in response to Frank's stories about Lorraine's large boobs. Then they would stumble into their cars and drive to Stinson Beach to surf terrific waves and flirt with babes on the beach. Oh how Waldo Dave longed for such revelry and to posess such attractive talents as those of his hippie brother.

And so, at 4:20 PM, near the water tower north of the football field at San Rafael HS in late May, the Waldo Club took a huge step toward infamy. Carefully, they each took turns inhaling the harsh smoke into their virgin lungs.

The effects were incredible. Feeling at first woozy and then slightly giddy the Waldo's reeled from the intense sense of happiness they felt and the departure from reality, a state they pursued most aggressively on a daily basis in the form of fantasy and sci-fi.

Waldo Larry then plunged into the agenda once again but with a new feeling of purpose and palpable excitement. Suddenly, new innovative ideas began to rush to the surface. Perhaps saffola oil might be a more efficient substitute for gasoline in the tank of the time machine. Maybe sunglass lenses would provide a better cover for the x-ray glasses experiment and finally, this substance found in the doobie might make a flavorful ingredient for the brownies at the Bake Sale. The ideas poured forth like lava.

It was agreed amongst the esteemed members of the Waldo Club that this magical reefer found in the doobie, had powerful and specifically positive effects on those who learned to partake of its flavour. Waldo William was able to recall an issue from an obscure sci-fi comic in which inhabitants of an alternative earth were exposed to a happiness serum on a daily basis, at a special time, that ensured their peaceful existence and saved their planet. Oddly, Waldo William, a veritable encyclopedia of sci-fi lore, was currently incapable of reciting the comic book and issue but swore to its contents. As a result, a plan was set into action that would change the climate of Waldo Club Bake Sales well into the forseeable future.

The Waldo Club Bake Sale was a huge success. Leading up until the event, the Waldo Club members met everyday at the magic moment, 4:20 PM to inhale the reefer and brainstorm for the Big Bake (as they were calling it). It was because of this fruitful "spitballing" that visitors to the Big Bake left such raving reviews and spent generously on the delicious brownies baked by Waldo Curtis, with a special ingredient.

Gradually, the 4:20 meetings evolved and began to take on a greater air of purpose. Membership in the Waldo Club grew exponentially and now included some jocks, cheerleaders and tree-hugging hippies. Everyday, through the end of the school year, more and more students were attracted to the magical scent of the Wonderful Reefer. New members were punctual participants and by 4:20 the group was large and boisterous. Others brought foreign strands of the reefer with mystical names like "Maui- Wowie" and "Mountain Girl" and the pillar of smoke grew to glorious heights. Oddly enough, most members had to get home or go to work around the time that talk of fantastic sci-fi and science fiction invention entered the agenda, but the Waldo's didn't mind. They had achieved their end.

(A story unearthed from deep in the annals of Camp Clovenhoof lore)