Woodstock 94: Back when kids knew how to behave with candles!

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	A picture of me at Woodstock '94, taken in the press pass area, right before I go on stage... Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
	I got to go for free as part of a team that was running a vending station. We sold chicken sandwhiches and hamburgers to benefit a local Habitat for Humanity chapter. This is the view out of our tent on a rainy day.
	I spent one night at a homeless shelter operated by Family of Woodstock. I was practically the only inhabitant in this makeshift barracks. A friend who was also at Woodstock did not believe that there was such a place in existence: here's a photo!
	As a hamburger cook, I was given a special bracelet to wear to identify me as someone who could have access to a lot of areas that most people didn't have. This is the view of the stage that I had on most days when I had free time. Some people never got any closer....
	I met up with some volunteers for Amnesty International. They had a plan to commemorate the carnage in Rwanda by passing out candles between the Chili Peppers and Peter Gabriel. "Light a Candle for Rwanda" was the theme. They had verbal permission from the concert leaders to do this, but no ID. They were not wearing the coveted "hamburger cooks' bracelet" as I was. A guard once stopped them at a checkpoint. The whole plan would have been ruined had I not been wearing the same shirt and vouched for them! This is our view of backstage as we drove our friend's pickup, loaded with candles, into position.
	My co-conspirators, sans hamburger-cook-bracelets, right before we go on stage.
	One of the photos I took from the stage. I was flashing pictures while the guys were throwing out candles into the crowd.
	Another view from the stage.
	Another view from the stage.
	This is the view of the TV screen which is stage left. We got to spend several hours right underneath this screen. This is a view of the Red Hot Chili Peppers before our candles were passed out.
	See, thousands of candles passed out to the kids, and no conflagration. It was about this time that I realized the recklessness of passing out lit objects to rowdy drunk kids. I never prayed SO HARD in all my life that there wouldn't be any damage or injury from our little stunt with the candles. My prayer and perhaps the fact that Gabriels' music is more serene than the Peppers' music helped prevent a catastrophe. Also, I remember the guards handing out FREE bottled water to the crowd that night. (In 1999, the rioters' complaints apparently included the high cost of bottled water!)
	Peter Gabriel then did his act with the audience peacefully holding candles. I don't think there ever was any mention of Rwanda by anyone on stage...

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