Author Calvin Miller tells a wonderful story about a boy named “Fruit Stand.” The story takes place in Santa Cruz, California. As the hippie era of the 1960s began to wind down, many of the refugees of San Francisco’s Haight‑Ashbury district moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. As they had children these hippie parents never gave them simple names like Tiffany or Michael. Instead, they gave them profoundly meaningful names like Snow Princess, Sea Foam, and Panache. People around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. Eventually all of them, along with Moonbeam, Earth‑Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school. It was then that a certain kindergarten teacher first met Fruit Stand.

On the first day of school this hippie child …