"Everybody Get Together!"

[Al Sisti]

The year was 1969. A lot of great things happened – the Moon landing, Woodstock and the rooftop concert, to name just a few – but just as many bad things stained the world as well. So when a band called The Youngbloods came out with their musical plea “Get Together,” it was music to the ears of this 17-year old hippie. The message? “Come on people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now.” Simple? Naïve? Saccharine? Sure, but it still resonates with this 70-year old hippie today.

As a little tribute, today’s meta is called “Everybody Get Together!”; a subtle reminder that peace is never really out of reach, and that your brothers and sisters are all around you, whether or not you know it – or them. So let your hair down, let your freak flag fly, sharpen your pencils, and give the meta (and peace) a chance. The answer I’m looking for is a date (month and day is fine).

Please submit your answer on Crosshare, or PM me your solution by 10 PM on Saturday, and as has become the custom, I’ll post a couple snapshots of a leaderboard during the week. Feel free to PM me for nudges, but try to stick with it for a couple days first. If nothing else, there’s always Nudge Wednesday.

One correct solver will be chosen at random and will receive an item of his/her choice from my swag bag (a Blarney Rebel Band CD, a Utica Club keepsake, or a $15 donation to a charity of your choice).

Everybody Get Together! crosshare

Everybody Get Together! PUZ

Everybody Get Together! PDF

Everybody Get Together! spreadsheet

If you enjoy solving on crosshare, help keep the site running by donating a few bucks.

[Tom Wilson]

What better way to kick off Thanksgiving week than with a heaping plate of positivity from our inimitable Utican! Loved the preamble to the puzzle, and I always appreciate the wit and wordplay that go into Al's cluing. Wishing safe travels, familial goodwill and multiple desserts to all, with hopes we can make this "Everybody Get Together!" vibe a contagious one.

[oldjudge]

🛋Fun puzzle, Al! We are about the same age and I have also always loved that song. Besides peace and love 1969 also brought championships for the Mets, Jets and Knicks, pretty great for a New York City kid. Thanks for the puzzle

[Al Sisti]

... 1969 also brought championships for the Mets, Jets and Knicks, pretty great for a New York City kid.

Not so much for the people of Baltimore!

[oldjudge]

Sadly true, but didn't those Baltimore teams have great players--Frank and Brooks and that great pitching (and underwear modeling) staff, Johnny U, and Wes Unseld and Earl the Pearl.

[DavyGravy]

Can't wait to try it. A great song and a great year for music!

[Dplass]

LOL... I for once don't feel like the oldest person in the room. (I was only a year old in 1969.)

[Tom Wilson]

Gulp. I was a fledgling eighth-grader on that particular date, a small-town know-nothing who grew to greatly appreciate all of the milestone happenings that occurred before his very eyes.

[Meg]

Thanks for the fun, Al!

[Schmeel]

Off the couch!
Thanks for the puzzle.
Remember 1969? Way before my time!

[bhamren]

I think I am off the couch (or was commonly called in 1969, the davenport).

[lbray53]

I think I am off the couch (or was commonly called in 1969, the davenport).

Also off the davenport.

My 69th birthday was yesterday so I identify with Al’s sentiments.

[boharr]

Off the couch. Thanks, Al. I was actually at Woodstock, so I am applying for extra credit.

[Darth]

OTC.
Hey man! Thanks for making it happen!

[bhamren]

LOL... I for once don't feel like the oldest person in the room. (I was only a year old in 1969.)

Maybe crossword puzzle meta solvers are like my job. I do custom programming in a language called RPG. I think the youngest regular RPG programmer I know is 45. For quite a while I have jokingly told people that my skills are so outdated that they are back in demand. This is not entirely true since I write web services and other “modern” code, but much of what I have been working on in the past half year is code that originated in the 1990’s

[ChrisKochmanski]

Off the couch!

Al, in your your youth, did you play much softball? In mine I played on and managed numerous teams. We had an unwritten rule: Play your best hippies in left-center and right-center.

[Al Sisti]

Off the couch!

Al, in your your youth, did you play much softball? In mine I played on and managed numerous teams. We had an unwritten rule: Play your best hippies in left-center and right-center.

I answered your question in the comments section of Crosshare. Anyone curious? Guess you'll have to solve the meta to see! (spoiler: We had a *lot* of fun in our softball leagues).

[benchen71]

Off the couch. Thanks for the puzzle, Al!

[Cap'n Rick]

I was a little too young to attend the original Woodstock (age 7), but I did go to the 25th anniversary celebration in Saugerties, NY in 1994. I hitched a ride with 6 young women in a Winnebago - one of whom eventually became my wife! There were an estimated 250,000 attendees, and it rained all 3 days. Good times and good memories.

[boharr]

I was a little too young to attend the original Woodstock (age 7), but I did go to the 25th anniversary celebration in Saugerties, NY in 1994. I hitched a ride with 6 young women in a Winnebago - one of whom eventually became my wife! There were an estimated 250,000 attendees, and it rained all 3 days. Good times and good memories.

Oh it rained at the original Woodstock as well. A very muddy weekend. But the music …….well you know.