Woodstock

I managed to catch this on PBS. A totally unique and absorbing presentation.

I was "of Woodstock age", but in 1969 I had just finished my Masters, was married with a child on the way, and was just starting my career with a job in S. Illinois. I knew about Woodstock but back then it was not my kind of thing, not a concert I would have ever gone to.

Now, 50 years later and my daughter about to turn 50, it is great to get a complete view of what it was all about. The organizers had no idea what they were getting into. They hoped for as many as 50,000, they got closer to a half million attendees. They lined up great musical performers, that part was done very well. But ...

Barely a month before the festival, with land leased and construction of the venue in progress, the local community hurriedly passed a law that essentially prohibited that type of festival. They scrambled and found a different, and much better, piece of land but really didn't have time to construct everything they needed, including fences, so ultimately it became a mostly free festival.

With roads clogged, military helicopters were put into service to bring in performers and certain supplies. Then there was the issue of toilets, water, and food, all deficient for the size of the crowd. Eventually the local residents and stores rustled up all the food they could and shared it all with the hippie crowd, reminiscent of the Biblical "loaves and fishes" story. With no other facilities available people slept on the ground or on a wall or in the rare car. At least one baby was born. No dead bodies were found when they cleaned up at the end.

In all a very peaceful three day music festival that went off mainly without a hitch, and that is truly a marvel. And a really good documentary, using original film and still photos, to tell the story.

Now I don't really know if I would have had fun in that environment but it sure is nice to see all those that did. Part of the people who went on to shape our world and today are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.