Woodstock 2009

Let's do this again?



The 40th anniversary of Woodstock nearly passed by without my notice. There was a guest editorial in today's Orange County Register by a gentleman of my age who reminisced about it in celebratory terms though he himself didn't go. The gentleman threw in a few references to Viet Nam and took a shot at George W Bush for "avoiding" that war-without mentioning a certain certified draft dodger named Bill Clinton. But I digress. I understand there will be a mini-Woodstock this week at the original site near Bethel, NY. I honestly wonder what the point is.

In August 1969, some 400,000 drugged-out members of my generation gathered at some poor guy's farm in upstate New York to listen to a bunch of drugged-out singers and musicians. Hailed as a festival of peace, love and music, it was more like sex, drugs, rock and roll-and rain, lots of it, none of which seemed to bother the masses as they cavorted, ran around naked, had sex, did drugs and wallowed in the mud-leaving behind a mountain of trash for the poor farmer to clean up.

Much like this year's celebration, the 1969 version passed without my notice either. I had just returned from an army stint in Germany and was trying to finish my degree. Though I was a member of the same generation, my tastes in music were more to the late 50s. Had Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and the Drifters been performing, I might have shown some interest.

It will be interesting to see who shows up at this year's Woodstock gathering. Will it be young folks in their twenties again or 60-somethings trying to relive the "good old days". What will they look like? Will they have moved on to corporate success within the "system"? Or will they look like Ward Churchill and other 1960s re-treads with long grey hair?

It has been said that the generation of my parents was "the greatest generation", to which I would agree. It has also been said that my generation was arguably the worst. With certain reservations, I agree with that assessment as well. The 1960s, did, however, give us the Civil Rights movement, and who can denigrate the veterans who served and died in Viet Nam-though many of those of the same age group did exactly that in those unhappy years? If later generations look at photos of Woodstock 1969, what conclusions are they to draw about that generation-my generation?

In the 1980s, while living in Italy, I was having lunch one day with a State Department official from the American Consulate in Milan, where I was working. He talked of his brother, who, in 1969, had gone to Woodstock. He then sarcastically added, "to this day, it's the greatest thing he has ever done in his life." I have a feeling that applies to many of the folks who were there.

Frankly, I hope it rains again.