Happy 40th Birthday Woodstock!

I kinda have a thing for hippies. I have no idea why but something about the commune/hippie life intrigues me. I guess if I believed in past lives, I would say I was a hippie who died tragically of an overdose of some drug that I grew while living on a commune. I am intrigued by the Manson family (up to the whole killing thing). I read Drop City and thought that if grew up in that time period, I might have been a hippie (until they moved to Alaska and things went wrong).

So I was pretty happy to find a wealth of pictures and accounts of Woodstock, since this weekend is the 40th anniversary. I spent WAY too long looking at them at lunch today. I'm not going to lie; it looks like it was cool and I bet if you were there it was amazing. I bet the two guys that planned it are pretty proud of themselves and rightly so. I bet there are a ton of people that weren't there but have lied about being there to seem cool. I know they tried to do Woodstock in 1998 for the 30th anniversary and from what I have heard, it sucked. I could be wrong but I don't think society today would allow the same thing to be done today.

For instance:
The man standing in the middle of the crowd naked or the group of people naked bathing in the stream? They'd be arrested for public indecency.

The people tearing down the gate and getting in for free? Arrested.

The people who put on the event without the permits? Event shut down and arrested.

The food stand who gave out free food and encouraged people to bring back what they didn't eat to be given to someone else? Shut down in a health code violation.

And don't even mention all the drugs! Or the cost of the liability insurance, bands, vendors, staging, parking and all other issues.

This may sound cynical and I don't mean to be. I recently read Outliers and was struck by how many things happen because of good timing. These people were lucky to get the timing right; something magical happened there and I don't think it can ever be recreated. I think that the people that experienced it were lucky to do so and every person played their part in making it such a peaceful, organized chaotic gathering.

I also think it was probably a gross, soggy, smelly event, that had people urinating and defecating in public, lots of nudity and not necessarily by people you would want to see naked and no food or water. I think the sound sucked, traffic getting in and out was impossible and there was a good chance you were seated next to someone celebrating "free love". I also think it was wet and cold and muddy and I would have been very, very, VERY grumpy after the first day or so. I really do wish I could have been there and know I would have been like that one lady, shaving her legs by the river.

I like reading about hippies and I think I would be a well liked hippie that contributed to my commune. I like the music that was in Woodstock and I support loving who you want when you want and with some guidelines, where you want. I support thinking for yourself and wishing for peace and love. I think nature is great and should be respected. I'm not so much a fan of drugs but support your right to do so. I do however diverge from the stereotypical hippie mentality when it comes to hygiene and creature comforts. Unfortunately that is a non negotiable for me. So thanks so much for invite Church of the Good Earth and the Down Home Nasties, but I'd like to practice my antidisestablishmentarianisn from an air conditioned room and a Westin Heavenly Bed.

Quote of the Day:
In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.