Name: Bill Delamar
City/State: Raleigh, NC
Date: Tue Apr 20 2004
Wrote...
I met my wife of 34 years in the crowd of 500,000 people. As it turned out she was the girl next door, because she rented a room next door to my parents in Durham, NC when I left for NC State. She did know a friend of mine in a crowd that introduced us.I had never seen her before that time.

I hitchedhiked from Durham, NC to Byron and was picked up by Chris Saling from PA who was in a convoy of hippies going to the festival. If you are out there Chris, please contact me! I would love to see you again!Chris and I were inseparable for days, and obviously were fast friends.

It was a leap of faith that we all took. Young, hopeful, and wanting to experience sex, drugs, and rock and roll. We had to deal with the War and the Nixon years. We lacked the perspective to know that little would change poltically over our lives, but we had hope and dreams. My life was about to change because of Vietnam; probably good I didn't know that.

I think I needed to escape from the world that we had to deal with to the world that expressed Love, hope, truthfulness, and joy. I found that in this place at that point in time. I truely love those people that I met, and hope that their lives have been happy and fulfilling.

There were mostly good and some bad aspects of this gathering. The only bad that was significant was watching a Hell's Angel wrap a chain around a pregnant woman's stomach and being so high that I could not defend her. I hope that that guy receives his just reward. I pray she was OK. I regret that I did nothing.

I remember BB King telling Chris and I that we had to get off his car. He had parked it in the crowd for some reason and we had, in our infinite wisdom, decided that we would sit there. It was a great seat. He walked straight at us after his show and said, in a easy tone, "you guys got to get off my car". We got off with some effort and watched as he drove slowly though the packed crowd. Thanks BB!! Great show!

I had so many friends at this concert that I never saw in the week that I stayed; but maybe I was meant to make friends-and I did. I rememer the stages with music, the river, the highway patrol in long sleaves when it was 100 degrees+ naked people, a drug market tghat overpowered the authorities and more. That was a special time! Nothing like that would happen today because the local, State, or federal government would never let it happen. This country has changed and few seem to see how much.