Acid for the Children – Log 2

By Micheal Balzary A.K.A Flea

Biography

• Introduction 

Acid for the Children is a 379 page novel about the life of Micheal Balzary or more commonly known by his stage name, Flea. The book goes from him starting off in a small town in Australia and ending up in Los Angeles as the bass player for the famous band the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Though along the way he faced many great stories and challenges he had to endure.

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My favourite character in the book was Anthony Keitis. This is because all his ideas and thoughts were so creative and funny, and always made me laugh. He was always getting into trouble, yet always getting out of it somehow. He always found ways to break bordom, he didn’t need phones or tv’s. He just has so much courage and makes anything seem possible that’s why I like him.  When I get into trouble or if there was a problem and try to fix it, it would always make the problem worse than it already was. Anthony had this magical skill and he’d always be able to get out of trouble, or fix a problem just by using a ridiculous method or his innocence as a kid. This makes me feel jealous that I don’t have that skill and I feel I can learn of him how he avoided making situations worse and how he resolved them. This one story in the book Flea and Anthony had gone on a ski trip to Mommoth mountain at 15 years old without their perants or a home to stay in (which is pretty crazy). Flea was trying to rent some ski’s. To rent ski’s at mommoth mountain Flea needed his mother’s ID to do it. Anthony, with quick, creative thinking, managed to desguise himself like a woman by borrowing some ladies ski gear. And with great acting pull as Flea’s mother. “I’ve been whitness to some great actors doing their thing in my life, but never have I whitnessed a performance of that magnitude. A stoned 15 year old boy, acting as my british mother, and coercing the staunchly buisnesslike rental people to give me skis.”. For me as a 15 year old boy, It makes me wonder how many things I state as crazy and impossible, which may not be as impossible as I thought. Anthony isn’t afraid to take those risks and I think that’s something me and society should recognise. Don’t be afraid to take a risk, to get what you want. There are just too many people who are afraid to step out including me, and I think reading about people like Anthony, made me wonder why I am. I think that everyone should wonder this too, and try to change it because how will we get what we want, unless we ask or try.

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“If only i’d been strong, rid myself of all petty distractions, my bull-in-china-shop ego……. I coulda saved him. He coulda figured it out”. Flea’s saddness and guilt for not doing more to help his friend Hillel Slovak come out of his drug addiction (which ended up killing him), made me think of what I could do if my friends ever got into a position like that. I think the message Flea is trying to put out there is that we should never be too scared to help someone you think is in trouble. It would be difficult and awkward for me to try to have that conversation with someone about something there doing wrong. You don’t want them to feel embarrased or angry at themeselves. I think a-lot of society has the same problems aswell. I think we need to be more couragous, because if we don’t do anything the person could get hurt and we could be left with guilt. But if we do try to help, then atleast we tried.  I think for me I do need to strengenth my courage, and not be so shy. Otherwise I might end up in one of those situations where you feel you can help, but be too scared to go over there and talk about it. I think all people need to have the ability to help someone who may be in trouble. So ‘never be too scared, to help someone you think is in trouble’. Otherwise you will be left with regret.

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Walter was Flea’s step dad whom he lived with in LA. “I flung open our front door to tell my perants about the madman on the loose…. The entire floor was covered in shqttered and broken stuff…  Walter. He was in his underwear, blood smeared about his face and his torso, a pistol on the floor by his side… “Go find your mother,” Walter said. For Flea having to grow up with an alcholic step dad that had massive tatrums all the time would have been challenging, and sad. Flea could never find a bond between him and his perants making him rely on friends who were all junkies. In society there are a-lot of kids out there that don’t have proper support they need from perants. Growing up in a place like New Zealand though it never really bothered me because it’s not something that people like to talk about therefore change never comes. After reading what Flea went through, and knowing a-lot of other kids go through it aswell. I think there should be more awareness and knowledge of what some people go through. There should be more support in charities that devote themselves to helping kids who are traumantised from crazy and somewhat abusive perants. I know that if I were one of those kids that have to grow up like that, I’d want all the help I could get to get out of it and have a normal life. I assume that most of society would think the same.

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I think the book title Acid for the Children is a good book name. It shows the reader that this isn’t going to be some childs book. It’s going to be quite real and possibly emmotional, because when you think of acid you think of something quite painful or disturbing. When you think of children however, you think of inocent, adventurous little humans learning and growing up. This mix I think gives us a wierd feel to it like it just doesn’t sound like it’s in the right context. This weird feeling we get from the book title is what I think makes us interested in what it could be about. A good autobiography should have a title that can relate to their life aswell. I think Flea hasn’t just used this title because he was a junkie growing up, but because it gives you that wierd feeling about the book like how weird his childhood waqs for him, and makes it more intresting to read. It’s the same feeling you’d get going on a holiday, and when that feeling comes back to you later on, it reminds you of that holiday. This wierd feeling is what made me intrested to read the book because the title made me feel like it was something intresting and that I might get hooked on. I think this is what the author Flea was trying to achieve with this title of the book. I like how he chose this title aswell rather than just his name or something like a lot of people do in biographies, it really shows his creativity, and passion in writing his book. I think that that book name is perfect and I can’t think of anything else that could top it. I think other people thinking about writing biographies should be influenced by Flea for how much thought is put into his title. 

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I would recommend this book to ages 16 and over. This is because the book contains a-lot of drug use, sex, and violence inside it. For a little kid they don’t have enough knowledge and understanding of these topics, and it could influence them do stupid stuff like smoking cannabis, beating up / making fun of other kids just because they think it’s cool. For example when I was twelve and I read this part of the novel…. “LSD was good for me… “I made many of the wisest decisions of my life while on acid or psilocybin mushrooms.” I would’ve begun to wonder if it would be cool to try drugs like psychedelics, and completely forget about how everyone says they make you brain dead. Reading this as a 16 year old however I know just because Flea and all his friends did it and it was great for them, they got lucky with there famous band but if they didn’t then they would’ve just ended up homeless and miserable. Being able to know both bad and good effects of what they were doing allows me to see where the line is that I shouldn’t cross. I think for everyone In positions where they’re not sure about trying something, you should always look at the bad negative outcomes that could come and ask yourself if that bad stuff did happen to you, could you handle it? I think it’s important for society to always know pro’s and con’s of anything before trying it. Whether it’s skydiving, or something illegal that your friends are doing. Make sure you would be able to handle the negative outcomes.