Now, look. This is not a publication that typically gets misty-eyed over tie-dye and drum circles. We're more "audit the budget" than "expand your consciousness." But there's something genuinely admirable about a guy who has spent the better part of a century doing his own thing, on his own terms, without asking the government to subsidize it.

Wavy Gravy built Camp Winnarainbow, a performing arts camp for kids. He co-founded the Seva Foundation, which has helped restore eyesight to millions of people in developing countries. He's raised money, fed people, made them laugh, and done it all with a rubber nose on. Say what you want about the man's politics — his track record of voluntary community service and private charitable work is something that puts most city supervisors to shame.

That's the thing libertarians and flower children actually agree on more than either side would like to admit: you don't need a bureaucracy to build something meaningful. You need initiative, generosity, and maybe a comically oversized pair of shoes.

At 90, Wavy Gravy has outlasted multiple wars, a dozen presidents, the entire disco era, and San Francisco's own efforts to regulate itself into oblivion. The city has changed almost beyond recognition since he first showed up on the scene, but the man himself remains stubbornly, joyfully unchanged.

So happy birthday, Wavy. We don't agree on much, probably. But anyone who's spent nine decades proving that individuals — not institutions — are the real engines of community deserves a tip of the hat.

Or, in his case, a tip of the jester cap.