In 1969, from August 15th through August 18th, the first Woodstock concert took place in Bethel, New York. It was an historic event of magnanimous proportion. I wasn’t there. I was only 17 years old, and Mom said, quite calmly and simply “No”. She would have said “H*ll, no!”, but, she’s not a swearing woman. Years passed, and I became a father. On July 29, 1985, my son was born. I was there. On August 9, 1987, my daughter was born. I was there. On July 2, 2005, Live 8 took place with concerts all around the world, in an effort to convince the major powers of the world to drop or, at the very least, greatly reduce the debt of African nations. One such concert was held here in Philadelphia. I was there, along with my two children, witnessing history once again. Finally, on April 18, 2008, another historic event - another historic event of magnanimous proportion took place, and, again, it was right here in Philadelphia. Sen. Barack Obama spoke at a rally, at Independence Hall . . . and I was there!
“CHANGE!” Did you hear that?! Let me play it for you one more time. “CHANGE!” That’s the sound of nearly 40,000 people shouting “change” all in one huge, unanimous voice. That was the scene this past Friday when I witnessed the voice of the most charismatic person that I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. There was the warmth of summer-like temperatures. Frisbees were tossed about as if we were back in Haight-Asbury, circa 1968, and there was the seemingly endless chant of “Obama, Obama, Obama!” Music was being piped into the microphones, and the crowd sang along and danced to the tunes that were familiar, but, soon, they grew tired of even the peppiest of tunes. There was but one thing that they had all gathered for – the appearance of Sen. Barack Obama.
We’ve all heard it before. We’ve all listened to it over and over and over. Yet, we never seem to tire of that charismatic voice saying that what this country needs is change. He reminded us that Sen. Hillary Clinton was not above playing the same old political games of kowtowing to big business, and business as usual. He reminded us that the name “John McCain” was just another way of saying “George W. Bush”. He reminded us that he was not willing to let the lobbyists maintain their headlock upon the will of the people. He said more than a mouthful. More than anything else, he reminded us, again, of what this country needs. Not for one second did we ever tire of his trademark call for change.
I missed Woodstock. I really wanted to be there. Four days of wanton freedom and it slipped through my fingers. I was fortunate enough to be present when my children were born, and I was there to witness history in the making, with my children in tow, by attending what could be called “the concert of the millennium”, Live 8. This past Friday, I witnessed history, once again, as I stood among the crowd of nearly 40,000 admirers, and listened with bated breath as the man say “Change”.
This is blackstarr saying “Vive La Renaissance”.
