Twiggy and I were 19 the summer of Woodstock, we had long straight hair with bangs, wore bell bottoms and see through eastern european embroidered peasant blouses. I think i had my first pair of clogs, navy blue Olof daughters i bought on bleeker street. I was working at Prexie's the Educated Hamburger, the one on 6th ave. at 8th street. Electric Ladyland studios was across the avenue on 8th street. Richie Havens was a regular and my memory serves me well that he ate chocolate cake and drank cokes, one day he came in with what looked like a sitar in a canvas case, and propped it in the corner, then took his seat at the counter. Fast forward, i quit my job so I can go, 3 days of Peace and Music. Look at the bands ! Some of our friends were gonna drive the next day or 2 but
Twiggy and I took the bus early in the week, they were still building the stage. Lying in the grass staring at the clouds I hand Twiggy some acid, it's her first trip. A few hours later she says to me, "I don't ever want to come down, if i do just give me more" ! I just have to giggle when, she says that. Then she says "I never told you how sad I was when your dog Puggy died" ,, and starts hugging me,, again I have to giggle. I don't remember much more of that day. Just that there were a lot of beautiful men building the stage with their shirts off. .. and the sound of trucks, helicopters ??

we are sleeping near where the Hog Farm is camped, and there was a small stage, we thought they were so cool. we're college girls between freshman and sophmore years, they are free women and men carrying babies, those beautiful long hair men and women, little wild child's running around and we are all dancing. Remember the guy wearing the leather loin cloth and the head band, I will never forget that guy. He's in the movie, and we should be in that scene,, i know we were right there, the music,,,

Fast forward, Richie Haven's is about to begin and we are in the front row, by this time there are more of our girlfriends, and we know by now that Richie is opening the show,,, 4 of us all had worked at the same place so he's seen all of our faces. We look up at him and his band ,, were there just 3 guys, drums, bass ,and richie ?? ,,, we are giggling and waving and they wave back. After Richie's set we roamed around,, never got back to the front,, but I have that opening vision in my head. And one of Janis's shadow on a screen. I was walking behind the stage, it was dark and the Joshua Light Show was projecting behind Janis singing, I see her shadow through the back of the screen... and the pyschedelic swirls.

I'm sitting in the middle of a crowd, a very interesting older man is sitting next to me, and he pulls out the largest piece of hash i have ever seen, it's a brick, he has a small knife and chips off some and fills this pipe that i can only describe as a long peace pipe with feathers,, beads,, he puffs and passes it along, I watch that pipe go far far away from us and come back to him,, he fills it and passes it,, and it makes it's way back. again and again.

fast forward,, the rain stops, we are soaked and covered in mud. we walk and find a place to swim, but we are too shy to get naked,, we go in anyway, clean up and sit in the sun. ... during the rainy night we are all inside a tent with a bunch of guys we went to high school with,, have no idea how or where we found them.. we only brought sleeping bags no tent,, silly girls,

we're still silly girls at heart, i was home for the 20th woodstock reunion, 39 years old and my friends from park slope are part of a bungalow colony for their kids summer vacation,, nearby Bethel. we went to the original site and joined that celebration. I had a big old cadillac and drove it up to the catskills , slept in it for a few nights and some nights in the bungalow. Melanie was there and Johnny Winter ?

So it's 40 years now, 59 this year, i'm living in Amsterdam for 14 years. no car, riding a bicycle, living easy running a Guest ahouse for tourists, and missing some of my tribe,, if i get a free ticket maybe i'll see how this unfolds. Going home anyway this summer to spend time with Mama Bella. and considering a road trip. New York, North Carolina to see Twiggy, then Arkansas where i lived in the Ozarks with 25 others in geodesic domes in the 70's, then maybe Austin, and if the gas mileage doesn't stop me on to California. timing it to be in San Francisco for the Golden Gate gathering with Artie Kornfeld would be a hoot and a blessing.
Where are those old tickets,, i had them for so many years, they must be around here someplace.
xoxo peace and love baby
ps - it's christmas and i meet my exhigh school bf in the city to see the premiere of the film ..Woodstock. In one of the scenes they are interviewing older people in one of the towns close by,, must be Monticello. All of a sudden we see Michael's (the bf) father's face huge on the screen and he is saying why not, this is great what these kids are doing, imagine putting 500,000 adults drinking alcohol together and see what would happen... they are being polite ... I have a son, he' s not here but he's out in california for the summer,,, we started yelling and Michael stands up in the dark of the theatre and yells,,, That's my father !!! everyone is laughing and as we leave people are patting him on the back, never forget that either.