Sacred Ground

Well, that was unexpected. No, not Trump’s latest indictment. Nor that there are thunderstorms in summer. What was unexpected, was tearing up at a tourist attraction. I have always been the sensitive type, but this came out of the blue. I’m talking about a visit to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, in The Catskill Mountains of New York.

This beautiful center, in an equally beautiful area, is on the site of the Woodstock Festival of 1969. Yes, that Woodstock. It’s also the site of the Woodstock Museum, a nostalgic magical mystery tour into, not just the festival, but to The Sixties, the glorious days of my youth.

The museum itself got me very nostalgic and it surely made me feel my age. I was struck, immediately, by the informational sign titled Boomer Nation. Right now, according to Gen Z, Millenials, and maybe even Gen X, we Boomers are nothing but old, cranky, conservatives who have ruined the world. One walk through this museum reminds you of the changes we instigated, the walls we broke down, and the hope and optimism and color we brought to music and art and fashion and politics. Boomers changed the world. Some might argue that that is a bad thing. Not to this Boomer. Hope springs eternal!

Back to the title. Sacred Ground. Walking onto the festival field, now a huge bowl-shaped field of green grass, brought waves of emotions. Awe was one. Nearly half a million people sat here, peacefully, listening to amazing music, for three days straight. Joy was another. That I got to live at the same time as this amazing event. Unfortunately, I watched Woodstock unfold on TV, from my comfortable Slatington living room. Finally, the most evocative emotion was one of sadness. I’m 71 now. Woodstock occurred 54 years ago. 54 years gone in 54 seconds. The hopefulness and the optimism and the kindness of 1969 replaced by the cynicism and pessimism and nastiness of 2023. That makes this perpetual optimist, of course, sad.

As I walk away from festival field, I take one look back and see a couple of young people lying in the grass, on their backs, in the middle of the field. I wonder what thoughts are going through their minds. Do they even know this is sacred ground?

I’ll close by highly recommending this trip to everyone, Boomers and non-Boomers alike. Only two hours from Schnecksville! It’s groovy, baby.