New Year in Woodstock

Well, I missed the People’s Republic of Windsor Road party, but Anique and I were both tired, and attending parties these days with Dorje is not that much fun – most of the time is spent running after him making sure he takes cigarette butts out of his mouth, and then leaving early when it all gets a bit much for him.

So, instead we hired a couple of videos and settled back onto the couch. It turned out to be a great New Year, as one of the videos was Woodstock. Anique fell asleep (the video is 3 and a half hours though, so she’s forgiven), but I made the whole thing. It even got me off the couch and doing some Dorje dancing. Dorje dancing is a slight modification from my normal style, which involves holding an alcoholic beverage in one hand. It’s become so engrained that if I dance with two hands free I’m unsure what to do with them. Dorje dancing takes it to extremes, with both hands occupied holding Dorje, who’s normally laughing hysterically.

I’ve always been drawn to the sixties era in the United States, or, to be pedantic, rather a certain understanding I have of that era. One of my favourite poets is Allen Ginsberg, and I enjoy most of the Beat writers (although from the 50’s, Ginsberg was one of the few respected elders amongst many of the hippies). I’m drawn to the freedom, the pushing back of boundaries, the rejection of war, the exploratory spririt… Perhaps I see a strong parallel with the youth of that era and my own life, growing up in militaristic apartheid South Africa with a conservative and Christian upbringing.

So, 210 minutes of Woodstock was sheer bliss, and yesterday ranks up there with my other memorable New Years (one being in Madagascar, and the other a night alone on the slopes of Devil’s Peak and Newlands Forest).

Hope everyone else had as good a time.