Woodstock: Bob Clinch

Bob Clinch, 60, Miller Place. Dental technician.

Friends were going. I ended up hitching a ride with them, $10 in my pocket, loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly, my camera.

I remember inching down (State Route) 17B on Thursday night. We noticed a lot of the fields on either side of the road were filled with tents; the locals were renting space for $3 to park and camp. We pulled into the field and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning . . . there were people everywhere and yet the mood was good. After walking miles, we finally arrived at the site and it was unbelievable. It was a sea of people. From this point on you knew this was history in the making. And it felt great to be a part of this because it was all spontaneous. Sun, rain, it didn't matter; people were everywhere enjoying the party, from Richie Havens to Jimi Hendrix. There will never be anything like it again.

I feel grateful to have been part of that experience. There was so much going on in the country and when the music started it just spoke to us because we were all there for the same reason, the need to be together and for the same common ground: peace. Because of the three days in 1969, the appreciation of music has continued to resonate within me.

Those days were awesome: to have seen the greatest bands ever and despite running out of water, food and things you take for granted, no one complained. It remains some of the best memories in my life.