Thang Nguyen 555

It must have been in the early 70’s when I watched Woodstock the movie on the big screen (this took place in Saigon).

My Cinema Paradiso.

And I must have watched it more than once.

I played some guitar, sang in the band. But nothing near what I saw on the split screen.

But most importantly, the gathering of music lovers (and God knows what else they loved – peace?).

Woodstock the film employed split screen technique quite a lot (that way, you feel like you don’t miss out anything while someone is shown during interviews).

To me, Woodstock was and has been an incidental experiment, just like America itself who began as an idea (l).

A lot of folks who showed up perhaps, like Tim Russert, found themselves participating in something much bigger than they had thought (and the best part was free admission).”following  you, I can see the millions” sang the Who.

Why do I know this? Because my initial reaction when seeing the movie was “Wow, how could this be happening!”.

It’s surreal. And back in 1994 I was seriously trying to get to another Woodstock then, but ended up hearing first hand report from my close colleague who resided in Connecticut.

Whatever Woodstock represents, we can see its faded glory in “the Big Chill”, a Woodstock came of age sample.

And this weekend, perhaps millions  will give a passing thought to this event, this phenomenon, and if you want to push it, this ethos, and chuckle: “well, it’s best to watch it on-screen, in the comfort of my living room or bedroom”.

Many will not stay awake to finish the director’s cut (extended version).  I tried that with the Godfather series one night

ten years ago, and gave up.  Even Santana mellows out with Caravanserai.

And the tie-died shirt? Maybe I will settle for the coffee mug. At least, I can keep an eye on it when online, as a reminder of a long time passing, a time when Joan Baez was heard early in the morning singing “Kum By Yah” and “We shall overcome”.

The road to Woodstock was jam-packed. But outside of it, there still are “many roads must a man travel”, oftentimes, alone.