Sat next to Hells Angels in Watkins Glen

I see Hells Angels are in the news about an alleged plot to kill Mick Jagger that was foiled by a storm that swamped the hit boat but spared the lives of the would be assailants. I'm glad no one was hurt on either side. Marty Balin was always one of my favorite singers and I wished that he hadn't gotten cold cocked at the concert that started the whole mess, but what can I say.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/02/njagger102.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

Anyhow, this got me to recalling, as I do every so often, how I woke one morning to find myself surrounded by friendly Hells Angels. My college roommate and I decided to attend the 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen. We went the day before and I set up my pup tent in a good location. When we emerged the next morning we found that even though over 600,000 people were jammed into that space, we had plenty of room because the local Hells Angels had decamped in a circle around my pup tent! That was cool. We didn't chat but it was copacetic. It was everything you could imagine. I was probably the only person there who never used drugs lol, but I was used to that. It was sad because a guy who parachuted down to the crowd died doing a trick with flares. I had binoculars but I didn't need them to see him fall. The bands were good, Grateful Dead (I'm not a fan but it was essential to see them at least once), the Band (this was the group I had come to see most), and the Allman Brothers (classic). Mud and a downpour, but thankfully it was not the hedonistic squalor of Woodstock. People were actually there to listen to the music and not make corny statements about free sex etc. Kathy and I had a good view of the stage because I brought sets of binoculars for both but mostly you just kind of listened and took it all in. I have a few snapshots somewhere in my storage unit. As you can imagine there was a flotilla of every vehicle you can think of, including a full size amphibious "duck" (military landing vehicle) that must have weighed many tons that was driven up the road and parked throughout the jam. But I often think of those Hells Angels who gave me some good breathing room in the most unexpected place and time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Jam_at_Watkins_Glen