Woodstock: Jeff Krasner

Jeff Krasner, 59,Wantagh. Works in real estate and promoting concerts.

Simply put - the best. It's still quite fresh in my mind because of the significance it has had in my life. I was away at college in Boston when I returned home to my parents in the summer of '69 in south Merrick.

We had heard that there was a concert to be held in upstate New York in a town called Bethel. Being into the music scene since age 12, I figured we just had to take a ride and have some fun. We opted not to buy tickets and take our chances that we would get in with the 30,000 people that were expected. Myself and three friends rented a van and off we went.

After parking at least a mile away, we proceeded to the great lawn, or what was left of it. Fortunately, I ran into a close friend who had plenty of food and we had the van. Perfect match - we did not have any food.

Starting off with Richie Havens and dozens of great groups . . . we sat and stood in the rain, muck, madness and the music for three days. What a rush.

Two years later my friend, Michael Epstein, whom I met in Boston in 1968, opened a club in Roslyn, My Father's Place, that featured Richie Havens as the opening act. For the past 12 years, I have had the privilege of working with him [Epstein] producing concerts. I have been to hundreds of concerts since the summer of '69, but none will ever replicate the experience we had as teens there.