Story of my life (the short form)

I was born and raised on a 40-acre farm in the depths of the rural Pacific Northwest. My father died when I was 6. After that, in order to make ends meet, my mother started renting out dwelling space to the local college students & other hippies. People lived in teepees, army tents, and little wooden cabins that they built in the woods. Eventually the farm became almost a commune. We met some really nice people that way, but some of them were pretty awful.