Woodstock...A Time to Remember....

It was the summer of '69, I was preparing for high school...and I had just landed my first job! I was a busboy/dishwasher...and I was getting paid to work! The starting hourly wage: $1.65...per hour! Just the thought: every hour I worked, the owner of the local bar/restaurant was to give me $1.65, plus any tips I may receive or split with waitresses. I was one happy guy!
 In late July is when I actually started, it was my first week-end I was employed, in fact, the very first day I worked...when 2 of my buddies busted in to see me. I was clearing some tables when they came running up to me and said,"Hey man, you got to go with, there is a concert coming up and Hendrix is going to be there!" I looked at them and said: "When?" They replied: " in August man!" I had just looked at the work schedule and I was schedule to work 4 week-ends in a row...people were on "vacas"...stuff like that. Then I said: "Where is Hendrix goin' to be at? ( my buds knew I was a die-hard Hendrix fan. Later, when I played my "long-playing" Woodstock album, I literally cried every time I listened to Hendrix rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner.")
 Anyway, my " buds" replied: " New York man, we can get there in 6 hours...some big farm near a lake...I think it is called.....Woodstock."

No, I didn't go to Woodstock...I worked at the local bar. For a long time, I felt remorse for that decision....but since I have rededicated my life to Him (October of 2007), I think He knew what was best for me...even back then...long before I really got to know Him.

 It was 1969....buddies were dying in 'Nam, we were the next to be drafted by the U.S. army, we rebelled against anything that even looked like a "part of the establishment", and of course...we loved to party! It was a crazy time, and I was excited in the midst of it all.
 After all, it was Revolution....a change in our culture was about to take place...or so we thought. 
 But as time passed, and we kind of drifted back into society, I  can never forget the fun and excitement we had during that era. I have often thought...what is it that keeps such fond memories of those years?

Honestly, I don't think our motives were all bad during those years. What I have come to realize is...we kinda left God out of our thoughts and feelings, choosing to go for a more "hippie" view: Peace...Love that did not include morals, because we were "free": well, that's what we kept telling ourselves.

 I think if I had to choose a word to describe the 60's and early 70's, it would have to be the word "Imagine"  the title of John Lennon's song in its release in 1971. By this time we had a catch phrase: " Just give peace a chance", and when "Imagine" hit the charts, it seemed to culminate the whole period of what our culture at that time was trying to say; "a world without countries...and no religion too."
 The problem with all of our "thinking" to that sort of utopia was: we couldn't of been more wrong. Man left to himself isn't capable of fulfilling only what Christ Jesus can do for us..."the changing of our hearts"...and that is why the whole 60's and early 70's era kinda "went south", it never evolved from the its original concept. Lennon of course met a tragic and needless death (hey, I know Lennon had embraced atheistic views but I have read where a couple years before his death he was searching into his Christian roots...I don't know if entirely true...but I know this: Christ Jesus loves John Lennon and went to the extremes for him as He did for the rest of us....He died for John Lennon).

And Woodstock? Well, it really did happen! 500,000 people showed up from August 15th to August 18th, 1969. I worked that week-end at my new job at the local bar. My buddies went to Woodstock, and returned with mixed emotions. They enjoyed some of the music that was there, but were disappointed with the mood of the crowd....there was "Peace...man...Peace" being shouted everywhere....yet, it was still the nature of man to fight, steal, and hurt others. Later on is when I realized....we can't do it on our own...transform ourselves or society...but there is One who can!
 The "3 Days of Peace" or "An Aquarian Exposition" as Woodstock was dubbed, brought different facts and results from the famed "Woodstock Experience."
 Here are some things that went on:
 1. 5162 medical cases with almost 800 of those cases being from drug overdose.
 2. 2 people died of a heroine overdose
 3. 1 guy was crushed by a clean-up tractor( the place was trashed)...while he was sleeping
 4. There are 8 recorded miscarriages during the 3 day concert.
 5. Of course "pot" was the smoke of choice, and it was reported that up to 90% experienced this form of "getting high" at one point or another during the 3 day event( actually it went 4 days).
6. Here was a good example of "peace and love": the "Food for Love" concession ran low on burgers, so to help slow down the demand they raised the price of burgers from 25 cents to $1.00. The crowd at the renowned festival thought it "was completely against what the spirit of the festival" was all about...a capitalistic exploitation! So, the answer: "Burn baby Burn"...the concession was set on fire and destroyed.

7. Of course, burning a way to get food wasn't the brightest idea, so a Jewish community centre made sandwiches with 200 loaves of bread, 40 pounds of cut meat, and 2 gallons of pickles. Now, just think, 500,000 pot smokers with the "munchies"... and with that donation(which was a wonderful gesture")...that would almost seem like Jesus feeding the 5000. Oh, by the way, catholic nuns distributed the Jewish donation. Could you imagine someone "high"  seeing that....Jewish people and catholic nuns working together...I could just hear the response now: "That's beautiful...man."
8. A group called "Sweetwater" was scheduled but were late because of all the traffic jams...so one of the hog farmers led the crowds through a series of yoga exercises ( I wonder if there were some hogs on stage to help with the exercises).
9. A little irony: Woodstock served as a statement for a number of things, one "big one" being an anti-war statement. Yet, in all of its "glory", it was the U.S. Army that flew in by helicopter food, medical teams, and even the performers as well. There were 45 doctors on hand...without pay.
10. Some of the performers who played at Woodstock included: Santana, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane (Starship later), Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Sha Na Na ( you haven't experienced life to its fullest until you have heard "these guys").
11. Performers who declined were: Bob Dylan (he was a big supporter of Woodstock, but his child was hospitalized that week-end), The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Chicago.
12. The first group to sign a contract for Woodstock: CCR...Credence Clearwater Revival. They received $10,000 for their performance.

Oh, and Jimi Hendrix...he did play at Woodstock! He was the last act to perform at 8:30 am on Monday morning. The crowd, which was estimated between 400,000 to 500,000, was down to between 30 to 40 thousand when "Jimi" came on stage. Hendrix performed for approximately 2 hours and it was in the last hour....we won't forget: "The Star-Spangled Banner"...it was simply...the best! Hendrix was in his now famous blue-beaded white leather jacket with fringe and a red head scarf.

 How did it turn out for the organizers of the event?... When it was all "said and done", they were 1 million dollars in debt and over 70 lawsuits awaiting them. I guess "peace got its chance".... which now I have discovered...

 The One I now know as the "Prince of Peace"...paid it all for me"....and I won't get sued for believing in Him either!

 The Revolution....it was a unique time...an era I will cherish...yet I also know there is only One who can do that.....Jesus...the True Christ...the True...Revolutionary!