American Girl

New York

Meadowlark sat yogi-style on the back bench seat of Waldo's VW bus. She shook her tambourine when the mood struck her. Otherwise, she stared straight ahead with glassy eyes. Mellow Melon sat on the floor at her feet. She swayed placidly but not in rhythm with Meadowlark's tambourine. Ziggy sprawled across the middle seat with Field Mouse pushed into a corner. Lennon took the shotgun position up front. They were headed for Bethel, New York.

Meadowlark was born Mary Sinclair. Her father owned a hardware store in the small town of Harveyville, and her mother worked as a bank teller. In other words, they were squares. The all-mighty dollar ruled their lives, and they supported the system. In the garage of their split-level house, a Town & Country station wagon sat beside a Coupe de Ville.

Mary met her new friends at a Vietnam War Protest. She attended the protest after school with her best friend, Jane Goode. Waldo leaped onto the top step of the country courthouse and shouted about peace and love. He held up two fingers on both hands above his head and made the peace sign symbol. The crowd held up their hands, too. Jane prodded Mary with her elbow, and both girls joined in.

Waldo pulled Jane onto the steps beside him. Mary followed in her wake and stood to one side. She admired her friend for speaking up beside the leader. Afterward, she told Waldo she wanted to participate more in the protest. She detested the war in Vietnam. When the crowd finally dispersed, Waldo invited them to sit in his VW bus.

When Mary and Jane clambered in, they found Ziggy and Field Mouse wrapped in each other's arms. Mary had heard of free sex but had never seen anyone involved in it. She backed away, but Jane sat down as though nothing extraordinary was happening. Shrugging aside her uneasy feeling, Mary followed her best friend's example.

"Company, Zig," Waldo announced, shoving the youth with his hand. Ziggy glared at him through square-framed wire sunglasses. Nevertheless, he sat up and pushed Field Mouse aside. "New recruits."

"Who?" Ziggy asked, his voice coming from far away.

"I'm Mary Sinclair, and this is Jane Goode," Mary introduced, offering a handshake.

"Mary Sinclair and Jane Goode," Ziggy echoed. "Where'd you dig up the squares?" He turned his wild eyes toward Waldo.

Mary resented the word 'squares' and voiced her opinion. Her parents were squares. She believed in peace and love. The world had to change, and she wanted to become a part of the new world order.

"You're Meadowlark." Ziggy pointed in her direction. "And this is..." His brow furrowed as he tried to think. "She's Mellow Melon. Dig your new names?"

"Yeah, we dig it," Jane cried, bobbling her head up and down. "Meadowlark and Mellow Melon, that's us."

At the next protest, the girls brought Make Love, Not War signs. They ironed their hair flat and wore headbands around their foreheads. Donning a pair of ragged bellbottom jeans and a skimpy bikini top, Meadowlark adorned herself with three strings of love beads and an armload of bangles. Mellow Melon appeared in cut-off shorts and a multicolored poncho.

After the protest, Waldo introduced them to Lennon. Lennon didn't speak. He wasn't disabled; his speechlessness was part of his protest. Only Waldo knew how to read his eye signals. Meadowlark learned that Lennon was the group's natural spokesman; Waldo acted as his mouthpiece.

Word began to spread about a multi-performer concert scheduled to take place in Bethel, New York. Billed "an Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music," Meadowlark and Mellow Melon wanted to attend. Waldo conferred with Lennon. Soon, they were on the road to Max Yasgur's dairy farm. When traffic piled up, they abandoned their bus alongside the road and hiked onto the concert grounds.