40 Years Ago Today, Heading to Woodstock

I am really thankful for being at Woodstock 40 years ago.  It’s hard to believe that it was so long ago.  I was twenty.  I can barely remember being twenty — probably for more reasons than age — at least during the three days of Woodstock. 

My mother was furious that I had decided to get into the multi-colored van with friends and head north.  After all I had spent most of my life in Catholic school and was about to begin my third year at UNC.  Of course, my mother was concerned!  What mother would not have been?  I was a relatively inexperienced citizen of the world, ready to experience it to the fullest.  No parent is prepared for that.  And, the truth is that most of us who headed to Woodstock were not prepared for it either.

Woodstock Poster

Woodstock was a necessary world event.  It was the culmination of frustration with a government that sent our friends to war in Viet Nam.  It was a plea for peace.  It was a statement.  And, it was good time.  Oh, perhaps you think I am overplaying the importance and if you are too young to remember it, maybe I am.  But, if you were there, you know what it meant to young people.  It was the first solid voice of dissent, and a flagrant disregard for the conventions of the time.  It changed us.

It was raining.  It was muddy.  It was music.  It was love.  It was everything that represented those of us who protested the war, those of us who sought world peace.  It was idealistic.  But, it was a good ideal.  And yes!  It was sex, drugs and rock’n'roll.

Hendrix at Woodstock

It was the third time I had seen Jimi Hendrix.  In fact, it was the last time I saw Hendrix in concert.  I saw Jefferson Airplane at 7:00 in the morning.  I saw CCR.  The list is almost endless.  But, the musicians who performed are on record somewhere.  Let me just say that I cannot imagine another time when so many musicians came together to perform, without all the hoopla required today.  They were there to have their voices heard.  They were a part of the culture, if only for a while.

So, that brings me to a sticking point.  I believe it was about 15 years ago when someone created Woodstock II.  By the time that event rolled around, let’s just say that I had little interest in being in that large a group of people, sleeping on the ground in tents, no facilities, and I certainly was not going to bathe naked in front of the world under a hose again.  Thank God my mother never knew about that.

Anyway, my older son was 17 when Woodstock II rolled around.  He came in one afternoon and announced that he was going with a friend to New York for the event.  He was 17!  And, NO!  He was not going.  The discussion raged for almost a week.  He presented his case, saying that he had been allowed to drive to Virginia for a football game and he returned safely and without incident.  Okay, Viriginia was quite as far as New York.  Let’s face it, the destination was not as questionable either.

The final statement my son made in his closing argument for why he should be going to Woodstock II was, “Well, you went to the first Woodstock!”

And, my response was, “And, that’s exactly why you aren’t going to this one!”

Now, what responsible mother (even a liberal one) would want her 17 year old to be retracing her steps? 

Need I say more?

Tagged as: Gratitude, Woodstock