Thursday, June 15, 2006

On the Road to Woodstock -part thirteen

We all got back to the tent, and Linda and Sherry took turns crawling inside. Sherry went first and came out with a blanket, and then Linda crawled in bringing out a book.

John and I stood together a little farther away than we normally would have. We watched the girls take their places on the blanket. Linda lay down on her side and propped her book open and began to read. Sherry sat down, and hugged her knees to her chest.

The way they were positioned there wasn't really room for John and I, and we just stood there watching. I was a loss as to what to do, and I didn't think John had any better thoughts, but when I looked at him he seemed amused at the situation.

I turned around and stuck my hands in my pockets. I looked in the direction of the road, but I was doing more thinking than looking. What had I gotten myself into, and what would I do now? I was torn between being angry with John and feeling sorry for myself, and feeling sorry for myself was winning out.

I was hundreds of miles from home in the most god-awful place in the world that I'd ever been. First there'd been waking up soaking wet freezing cold from the rain. Then there was the baking heat of the day. Where there wasn't grass, there was mud. Now there wasn't any food or drink, the place had been declared a disaster area, and John had distanced our only two friends. All of a sudden I felt beat down, scared, lonely and terribly homesick, and for the first time since getting there I wished I had a cigarette. The pack I'd come up with had gotten wet in the rain, and I'd never seen anywhere to buy any more. With all that was going on, I hadn't really thought about cigarettes, but right then a couple of drags sure would've felt good.

"Johnny Lee," John called. His voice startled me out of my thoughts of hopelessness. "Come on over and join us."

I turned around and was surprised to see that he was sitting down with Linda and Sherry. Linda had put down her book, and was sitting up with her legs off to her side, and John was sitting close to Linda. She was laughing and looking at John, and my anger turned to admiration for the guy. He sure had a way with women.

I walked a little quicker than I needed to to join the three, and sitting down I felt a sense of relief. Sherry relaxed her fetal position letting one leg stretch out in my direction. I looked at her, and she gave me one of her coy smiles. I couldn't help but grin back. All seemed well again.

"I know a man," John said to me. He had a sly smile on his face.

"What man?" I asked. I knew the routine well.

"The man with the power."

"What power?"

"The power of hoo-doo."

"Who do?"

"The man with the power."

"What power?"

"The power of hoo-doo."

"Who do?"

"The man with the power."

By this time Linda and Sherry were laughing and Linda let out a snort, and John and I laughed at that, and all without pot. Actually, I think we all might've been somewhat stoned from earlier. I could still feel it myself.

"That was dumb," Linda said. She had a smile on her face.

"But it made you laugh," John pointed out.

"True," Linda agreed. "Know any more?"

Without hesitation John asked me, "What's the word?"

"Thunderbird," I replied.

"What's the price?"

"A quarter twice."

"What's the action?"

"Satisfaction," I said stretching out the syllables.

The girls laughed again but without the same enthusiasm as the first time. "What's Thunderbird?" Linda asked.

"You never heard of Thunderbird?" John asked.

"No," Linda answered. "Have you?" she asked Sherry.

"No" Sherry seemed surprised she'd been asked.

"It's a cheap wine that bums drink," John said.

"Well, we don't know any bums, do we, Sherry?"

"I don't know," she said, "I could name one."

"Oh yes," Linda said, "him." She gave Sherry a knowing glance.

"Yeah," Sherry said. She sounded resentful.

The girls were interrupted by an announcement being made over the PA system.

"We have some good news people," the voice echoed over the hill. "But first let us apologize for the lack of food and water. We were expecting 75,000 people and instead we get half a million! But isn't it great? This many people getting together and having nothing but peace and love for one another. It's never been done before. But back to the good news. The Hog Farm has set up some food lines for anyone who is hungry, and they are located near the pink tent of the first aid center. We're also expecting several water trucks shortly to deliver fresh water, and they will be located at various locations. We're not sure where yet, but as soon as we know we will let you know. The Red Cross has donated several truckloads of sandwiches and they will be distributed at the concession stands free of charge. In case you've noticed the army helicopters flying in, don't freak out. They are delivering emergency medical supplies. Joe Cocker will be on soon so stay cool people."

"So that's what those helicopters were for," Linda said.

"Yeah," John said, "I was starting to think we were under attack." He chuckled.

"I'm glad they're bringing in food and water," Sherry said.

I nodded my head in agreement.

I looked at my watch and it was after two, and I wondered why it had taken so long for a band to get ready to start. It was terribly hot, but I liked the way the sun felt as it baked into my skin. As hot as it was I didn't feel sweaty the way I did when it was hot at home. I guess the mountain air was a lot less humid than it was in the low-lying areas around the Potomac.

"Does anyone want to go up on the hill to see Joe Cocker?" John asked.

I wasn't that crazy about Joe Cocker, but I said, "Sure."

"We might as well," Linda said.

"Okay," Sherry said.

So the four of us went up on the hill for the second time that day and found a place to sit. Joe Cocker came out as promised and began to play, and I took out my camera and took a picture. Then within minutes the blue sky gave way to ominously dark clouds.

"We better get back," Linda said. "It's going to storm."

We all four got up, and Linda and Sherry gathered up the blanket, and we headed back to the tent. A crack of thunder rolled across the sky as if a forewarning of what was to come, and we hurried our pace. We were very close to the tent when the rain began to start. It started out as a drizzle, but then suddenly it was if buckets of water were being poured from the sky.

We were lucky, though. We made it back to the tent just in time. There was only room for Linda and Sherry inside, but they had a couple of ponchos that they lent to John and I. Just as we got them on was when the big storm hit. Had we been a minute later we would have been soaked. As it was, the girls' ponchos saved us.

John and I left the girls to wait it out in their tent while we went wandering through the wasteland of mud and water. Small lakes sprang up everywhere, and then the wind gusted up fiercely. My face got soaked before I could turn my back into the torrents. For a moment it was impossible to see, and when the wind finally died down, I could find John nowhere.

The downpour slowed to a heavy drizzle, and the thunder stopped. I wandered down the road the way of my morning's stroll in muddy boots and jeans wet from the knees down, and many of the people rather than cringing from the storm seemed to embrace it as a gift to be enjoyed. They may have been soaked, but they welcomed the rain with arms outstretched and raised to the sky.

I dodged the deeper puddles as I made my way down through the mucky thoroughfare till I came across the path that led to the front of the stage. It was crowded, but people were courteous as they threaded through one another as corpuscles through a capillary. It was somewhere along that way--between the rain and the crowds it was hard to see exactly where--that I ran across a hill that people were using as a giant mud slide. I watched as folks took turns slipping down the smooth slippery surface covered with the soft, sticky earth. It was a good hundred feet long, and a ride might take five or ten seconds. The one thing I couldn't get out of my mind was how these people were going to get clean afterwards, and then I remembered hearing of a nearby lake where nude swimming went on. I would've liked to have seen that.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

A real mud slide, eh?

G.Lo

7:00 PM  

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