Lying two hours north of Bethel NY, the home of Woodstock, is SUNY Oneonta, a university labeled “stoneyonta” for its free spirited attendants and heavily “green” influenced culture. I had the privilege of making the three and a half hour drive up with my cousin and a friend. As our tiny car winds up and down paved roads through the mountainous woods of upstate New York, my mind wanders to the history of this region; particularly, the debacle at Max Yasgur’s 600 acre farm all those years ago.
I am unable to forecast the level of partying approaching, but I assume that the atmosphere will most definitely be “anything goes”. We stop by a friend’s house to check out his place where we are welcomed by a heftily packed bowl of ganja and scoop up another 20 piece for the rest of the night. The bag doesn’t last long. We push onward, gaining two new friends. Our next destination is where we will be spending the remainder of the weekend. Upon arrival we are greeted by two young gentlemen elbow deep in creating their first meal in a newly leased apartment. On the menu is Chicken Alfredo and salad, of which they are more than happy to give us a plate of. The mood is positive as this is the first weekend before the commencement of the fall semester. Students are taking advantage of their last days of freedom before having to work and study for the remainder of the semester until winter break. Just recently graduated, my memories are very fond of the first off campus move in. I am happy for these students, wishing to relive the entire process. We proceed to sit down; I crack a beer while the others all enjoy further greenery. A few more bodies come to the apartment to join in the festivities, the music cranks up and the beer pong begins to roll. Rock, Reggae, Dub step and house music bump all night. Surprisingly no hip-hop is queued, a shocking occurrence in my experience. We party early into the morning, hoping to another house party featuring a fire and a drum circle.
A few musical takeaways from the trip are: Three legged Fox, and Fake Blood.
These kids go hard; my only hope that at least a little studying goes on in these halls once school starts, most likely not though. The next day is cool, overcast and somewhat dreary, not much is accomplished. A little food shopping and town exploring occurs, but it’s mostly an inhale, couch, movie day. The highlight of the trip, shockingly enough was a documentary about Hunter S. Thompson, one of my all time favorite writers. Author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and published heavily by Rolling Stone, (another favorite publication of mine) Thompson is one of the most influential writers of our time. The movie, entitled Gonzo, for Hunter’s signature style of participatory journalism was enlightening concerning the great author’s life and the tumultuous events that surrounded it. The author’s recent suicide, in 2005, was a shock to the literary world and an unfortunate tragedy.
In keeping with the theme of Hunter S. Thompson, Woodstock and the students of Oneonta, a conversation was struck about the counter culture movement and the similarities between what occurred in the seventies as they relate to current events. In my eyes, the new civil rights movement that began with King is now for gay rights and abortion. Afghanistan and Iraq, are the new Vietnam, we even have a fully stacked majority in the house, senate and presidential offices along with an economic downturn. The only difference is now there are thousands more students and no draft to impede upon a revolution in the way we live, think and believe. The beginnings of which could sprout here in the North East, and possibly even in the SUNY colleges, those West Coasters are far too entertained for protest.
But I digress, throughout the day, friends of the homeowners stop by to say hello, all of which are equally friendly and excited to chat. Movies are continuously played well into the night. Not much else is accomplished; we eat dinner, and play a few rounds of drinking games but all in all a mellow night due to the necessity of our early departure in the AM of the following morning. Looking back my trip to Oneonta was enlightening, and fun. I love the town, love the kids. My ride back was traffic laden so I had quite a bit of time to review the weekend. It was a wonderful time and I thank my new found friends for their hospitality and generosity. I’ll be seeing you.
Good story
ReplyDelete