Chapter 6: August 15th, 1969

It was a challenging time for many places around the world. Earth’s history had seen its share of human history as it would slowly rise in population. The 20^th century was no different. Two devastating World Wars would reshape the world, its politics, and its culture. Suddenly new nations were forged as Europe began to withdraw from its colonized territories. The United Nations was created, and two superpowers grew from the ashes of World War 2. The United States and the Soviet Union would dominate global politics and other nations for the mid half of the 20^th century. It became a war between capitalism versus communism that pressure and pull infant nations that were struggling to gain their independence.

In 1955, a war was brewing in a small peninsula controlled portion of the Asian continent. The Vietnam War would be an era where countless soldiers were sent to eliminate the communist threat. It was a dragged-out war of death and destruction. Past and present were at each other’s throats. The glory days of the United States in being able to win wars were becoming stagnant. What was thought to be a relatively easy victory turned out to be a savage battle in the great forests and swamps of Vietnam. The United States and allied nations were finding out that Vietnam would not be an easy victory. The Vietcong were hard to defeat. The trees and forests were everywhere. Day after day, the war would drag on as countless body bags would return from Vietnam to be sent back to places such as the United States. The draft would force these men to go to an area that they had little knowledge or desire to go into to stop an enemy that they seemingly had little on. The results were horrific.

The children of the former soldiers of World War 2 were left with little course of action. Some went to Vietnam to fight and return home to nations that were beleaguered after the conflict. Some cursed the soldiers for not winning. Some condemned the government for sending them in. The generation after World War 2 had enough. Racism was at an all-time high, and the desire to see equality and the end of the Vietnam War had grown.

The Peace Movement in the United States was the result of the exhaustion of the war. The generation protested the war and violence. Some wanted to see the war end and bring the soldiers back home. Some wanted to see discrimination come to an end. It was no easy task. The peace movement was overwhelmed by the concepts of the past. Segregation was in many places in the United States. The original system was to ensure that people of different skin color were never allowed in certain areas.Meanwhile, many politicians favored the war, making the desire for peace difficult. People like Martin Luther King Jr., who helped unite the peace movement and anti-segregation, would be assassinated in some hope to prevent the end of segregation. Communism was considered to be a threat, and the collected concept to some individuals was that every resource had to be sacrificed to ensure that it didn’t spread. The peace movement often clashed with this past concept.

While the United States was dealing with progressive and past ideals, something interesting happened in 1969. It happened in a little place in Bethel, New York. A dairy farm belonging to Max Yasgur was chosen for one of the more renowned music festivals that the United States had ever seen. Known as the “3 Days of Peace and Music,” it would become the location and center hardpoint for the peace movement. And of course, music would be on everybody’s menu.

It was not exactly an ideal location to hold such a festival as Woodstock. Rainstorms were coming and going throughout the area. With such a vast open space, it was sure to soak the viewers that would participate there. Questions arose if the concert would be able to hold the facilities to handle such a crowd that was going to come. In reality, nothing could prepare for it. As crowds heard of this concert, so did the desire to see it. Like a magnet, it drew crowds by the thousands. Every walk of life was coming. The beleaguered road couldn’t handle the vast amount of cars that were coming. More and more people were coming, and there was nothing that could stop it. As the stage was being set up, the crowds were gathering as tents were being built in masse. Woodstock had come.

For Stevens, he was just the many. Traveling down the long road to get to this festival, he was dressed, ready to see this concert. His long brown hair, short brown sleeveless vest, blue pants, and brown boots were nothing like what everyone else wore. He still recounted that as he walked, the population had no form of dress code, which was how he preferred it. Some wore the clothing that would identify themselves as hippies. Most were dressed in short but basic summer clothing of the 1960s. Some didn’t have much at all. A few women would occasionally decide that no clothing or topless was the best-preferred method of attire.

He was just the many that were walking. It was like sheep being rounded up to the great field. There were so many people ... thousands ... tens of thousands ... hundreds of thousands. He had heard the rumor that it was almost impossible to charge every person that was coming to the concert. The seats had run out, and people just sat behind in the great field. He didn’t even bother bringing his gear, and that weighed on his mind. The only place to go sleep was the vast open field dominated by more and more people heading to this festival.

The conversations around Stevens were everywhere. Bumping as he walked, the crowds of people just kept moving like schools of fish. A part of him was pleased, but a part of him also realized the concert’s sheer magnitude. There were simply so many people ... too many, to be exact. He tried to gather more and more of the locale. The concert itself was rather simplistic in design. There was no roof, obviously, since it was in the middle of a field. The temperatures were pleasant, being at around seventy degrees Fahrenheit although he recalled it being warmer in the middle of the day. He knew that the storms were coming. Drizzles were apparent, and there was no account of when the big rainstorms were going to come. The weekend might be clear and sunny or a torrential downfall. He could only imagine what the musicians had to go through.

The environment itself was beautiful. Located in a field, the trees tended to take the rest of everyone’s sights in the background. Of course, that wasn’t unless he was bumping into another person in the long walk. The different crowds of individuals were a welcome sight, however. He saw men of dark complexion that were walking and talking to the festival. He knew that this was not the Deep South where the idea would be more frowned upon as he nodded his head in approval. The fact was, everyone was here for the same thing ... to hear the music that only made things more joyous for him.

“Ah man...” he said lightly and composed as he touched his forehead. “I might regret not getting a hat for this. Now I had to remember about wearing one as I try to find a seat through all of this. Uncool man ... uncool.”

He put his hand to his small goatee beard. It was nothing major of a beard. The light black hairs were just a stubble that flowed from his mustache down to his chin, but it was very hard to see it from a distance. His small Windsor glasses bounced around on his nose as he readjusted them on his face. He had to be careful with them. One jostle and they would fall to the ground and quickly get stomped on by the moving crowds. He was reminded of his large peace sign necklace that he wore as he kept walking forward.

“Any idea of who is performing first?” a random male stranger asked another in the moving pack of people.

“I don’t know,” a woman replied back. “Sweetwater is supposed to play first ... but ... I can’t tell right off the bat who is on stage.”

“Who is on stage!?” another asked. “Far-out.”

“No ... no,” the woman replied back. “Who is going to perform tomorrow!”

“Heh...” Stevens nodded as he continued his long trek. “I knew that was going to happen eventually. I wasn’t expecting it to be that early.”

Stevens tried again to look at the concert. It was on his left. The giant wooden box of a stage was built as best and quickly as it could. Heads were bouncing around in his vision as it made it hard to see what individual was coming forward. He could tell that the man had a dark complexion and a beard. He recognized immediately who the individual was.

“Oh ... looks like it is Richie Havens!” Stevens called out, hoping that the individuals behind them could hear it.

To the left of Stevens was the large chain link fence. He could see the crowds of people that were sitting down. How these people were going to be able to take care of themselves was a problem he rather learned too late in dealing with. As he looked at the outer edges of the gathering of people, he could see the small makeshift buildings installed. Food lines had been created, but would they have enough to feed everyone? He looked down at his stomach and knew that he might be hungry for the next couple of days.

“Really didn’t expect so many people,” he quietly said to himself. “Just didn’t see it coming. Almost 5. The performance should be starting up soon.”

He had walked past the chain-link fence and could see more of the front stage. He could see the enormous metal constructed towers that were put up to help provide the overhead lighting and speakers for the musical performance. The sun was slowly going down as it was going to become night soon. As he looked at the crowds of people, he could see the variety of individuals that sat down in the grass. It wasn’t what he honestly expected. The crazy hippie clothing attire that he heard so much about was actually very little. Most people were dressed ... well, like they were going to a concert. He recalled seeing a woman that was topless and breastfeeding her naked baby, but again it was a pretty civilized gathering.

He could hear it. The first sounds were coming from the stage. Richie Havens was getting started as he began to play his music. Stevens recognized it immediately. The question that bothered him was why Sweetwater wasn’t performing first. Perhaps they were going to perform later? Havens began to play his guitar as the melody swept through the crowds. People were cheering as the concert was going to carry out after all. Small fears hit him that others were going to shut down this concert and further oppress the people. Thankfully, the music won out.

It was a long walk. His legs were hurting, but he knew that it was worth it. To be truthful to him, it didn’t matter where he sat. He knew that his vehicle was somewhere in the vast array of cars, trucks, and vans out there. He had to hear the music.

Stevens could see the crowd he walked in with slowly dispersed to find their own places to sit, chat with others, or find the concert’s facilities. The good news was that he had just about anywhere to sit. Some people sat outside of the main crowd. There was a pleasant green hill where people tended to also be at. He knew with the ever-growing group that it was best to sit some distance. This way, the crowds would come to him and not be over swamped with individuals. He could tell that the music traveled far. If he could keep hearing the music, then he would keep walking. If it got to the point that he couldn’t listen to it, then he would slow down to a stop and find that place to sit down.

The trek was ongoing and frivolous. Hundreds of thousands of individuals were present. He held no malice toward himself. He was happy to make it to the place in time. Richie was in the middle of his song “Get Together” as the audience was focused on the music.

Finally, he reached the location. The small patch of green grass was an ideal spot for him. He could see a couple that was not that far from him. It was fair enough that it was not the most populated of locations. He could still hear the music from his place, although the cheering audience sometimes drowned out the music. The couple was a man and a woman who were well equipped for the concert’s upcoming days and nights. They had sleeping bags that they lay on, along with the small woven thin blankets, they even had an umbrella, or at least one of them did. The man wore no shirt but a large hat that covered his shoulders. The woman was wearing a green shirt with a peace sign logo on it. Her pink shorts were tiny.

“Uncool,” he noted out loud. “Just too many people. I guess I should have come sooner. I can’t blame you guys for sitting here,” he directed his comments to the couple.

“It’s good here,” the man replied to him.

“Yeah ... it is totally great here,” the woman said in turn.

“Can’t complain about it either. Better to see more people here than too little.”

“I hear you, brother,” the man replied to him. “We might be far from the stage, but our soul is with them.”

“Yeah,” the woman said. “Come and have a seat with us ... you seem like the pleasant sort.”

“Oh yeah, of yeah,” Stevens said. “Totally groovy. My name is Stevens, by the way.”

“I am Tiffany, and this is my boyfriend Brendan,” the woman introduced herself. “Couldn’t say no to this wonderful weekend of peeeaaaaceeee and loooove.”

“Yeah, man,” Stevens explained. “Nice to meet you two. I wouldn’t be surprised more of us are going to sit here. It is like a tidal wave that keeps coming.”

“Tidal wave of love,” Tiffany replied.

“Mmm ... mmm,” Brendan added.

Stevens got himself more and more comfortable with the grass. He moved a rock out of the way as his butt properly greeted the soft soil underneath.

“Aren’t you ready for the next couple of days?” Tiffany asked Stevens.

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” he replied with a simple wave. “This ground is inclined enough for me to sleep on. Used to sleeping in the car seats anyway. What about Brendan there? I can already feel the temperatures dropping, and all you got is a shirt.”

“He has a blanket.”

“Isn’t Sweetwater supposed to play first?” Brendan asked.

“Yeah, I don’t know why either. Richie sounds great, though,” Stevens commented.

“Do you happen to know the list of performances that are going to happen for the weekend?” Tiffany asked.

“I know some of them. It wouldn’t take much once I hear the music of who it will be. The stage ... they just look like ants though.”

“At least we can hear them,” Brendan said with a nod.

“Do you know the layout of the concert?” Tiffany asked. “We got ourselves ready for this concert, but we just didn’t prepare for that.”

“Hmmm...” Stevens commented. “I know where the food lines are setup, but I don’t know everything. Man ... they must have hundreds of toilets on the other side down there, but ... I don’t think they are going to handle the amount of people coming.”

“Yeah...” Brendan replied. “Just have to wait the long lines or go somewhere else.”

“I saw the pond on the way here,” Tiffany commented.

“I did too. Filippini Pond. Might end up going there this weekend. I can imagine people are already going to be there as it is.”

“Ah ... yeah, I hear you, brother,” Brendan commented. “I wouldn’t be surprised if people are going to ... heh.”

Tiffany looked at Brendan with a big smile on her face. “You think it would be a great idea? I would totally do it.”

Stevens gave a big nod with a smile. He got more and more comfortable as he listened to Richie as he played his guitar. His band continued to add the rhythm going from song to song. He could see more and more people coming in, but the ongoing traffic was slowing down. The concert starts as an indication that everyone was here to listen to the music of rock.

As Stevens was enjoying the music, he could see two women that were coming in his direction. It was a matter of time before more people would come to the area they sat in. The choice of clothing, though, did catch his eye, as did the women.

One of the women had a bronze skin complexion and somewhat stocky. She was wearing a white shirt and a flower in her hair. Her black hair was woven together that went down her shoulder to her breasts. She wore short blue pants and was barefoot. The most notable thing that Stevens could tell was that this woman was pregnant. Her belly distended from her shirt, almost revealing her midriff.

The other woman seemed to be almost dressed up as a Native American woman. Her skin complexion was much lighter than the pregnant woman. She wore a brown shirt with tattered strips that hanged freely in the wind. Her shorts were also brown and had similar flair-like strips that dangled from the shorts. Her midriff was gladly exposed as she swayed a little bit with her walk. She was a little bit taller but lankier. She had a large white feather that stuck out from her long black hair. She was also barefoot as well. Unlike the pregnant woman, she had a purple and green flower painted on her cheek.

In reality, Stevens was utterly unphased by the two women. He had already seen thousands upon thousands of individuals. The only difference was that they choose the location that he and the couple wanted to sit at. He couldn’t argue with this, however. The two women had a slightly different way of how they walked. The taller woman walked with less sway than the pregnant woman. To Stevens, she looked like she was eight months pregnant but didn’t have any difficulty in how she walked. If anything, she seemed more carefree. Both of them were smiling, but the pregnant woman’s smile was even more prominent.

“Heeeeyyy,” the skinny woman commented to the three. “Mind if me and my friend come and sit down to enjoy this great music?”

“Dude, I love the clothes,” Brendan commented.

“You look so pretty,” Tiffany said.

“I don’t have a problem, come and have a seat with us,” Stevens added.

“Yeah ... yeah,” the pregnant woman said. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

“Just do me a favor and don’t give birth here,” Stevens joked with her. She replied with a little cheer and hopped as she sat down next to Stevens. The other woman sat beside them as the five people lined the outer layer of the countless individuals that were present.

“Oh wow,” Tiffany said to the pregnant woman. “Are you sure you are going to be alright? It is going to be a little bit cold this weekend, not including the rain.”

“I will be fine,” the pregnant woman said. “I wouldn’t have missed this concert ever. My baby just gets a chance to rock out with it.”

“My name is Theo,” the other woman next to the pregnant woman said to the others.

“Brendan,” the man addressed himself. “Tiffany, my girl,” he said, pointing to his girlfriend.

“I am Stevens,” the man said. “I can’t argue with having two fine beautiful women.”

“I can’t argue getting a chance to sit beside a fine beautiful woman like Tiffany either,” Theo said. “Brendan ... hello.”

The man nodded his head to her.

“I have no idea who is performing what. I hope you guys know the schedule.”

“I know what it is going to perform ... or at least some of it,” Stevens told the two women. “I know Tim Hardin and Ravi Shankar are going to perform today ... ehh ... if you want to know ... I have a friend that is working with the bands. That is why I know who is going to perform.”

“Groovy, man,” Brendan replied. “Looks like we are going to you for a regular schedule.”

“Mostly accurate schedule. Sweetwater was supposed to play first, but Richie Havens is performing first. I don’t know ... hopefully, the band didn’t get stopped by the police or something. You know how it is...”

“Oh, I hear you, man. Nothing but the police to put you down. They can’t stop this great music!”

“Ye, ye, ye!” Theo added with a yell. It almost sounded like an old fashioned Native American yell.

“Speaking of which,” Stevens said, addressing to Theo. “I love the getup you got.”

“Thanks, Steven.”

“You almost look like some Indian or Native American with that getup.”

“That because I am ... or at least mostly,” Theo said as she patted her clothes of any dirt. “My father was Native American. I couldn’t hesitate to wear it. I tried convincing my friend here to wear it, but she insisted on wearing what she has now.”

“Oh, far-out!” Stevens commented with a smile. “I can’t argue with the Native Americans. They were here first. They love nature and respect it.”

“Yeah, peace and love,” Theo nodded as she got herself comfortable on the grass. “Of course ... I came here for many reasons. I couldn’t say no to the music, but ... I want more than that.”

“Well, I am sure that you are going to get it here,” Tiffany said. “I got friends that are coming here tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be here.”

“Dude, I kept hearing rumors,” Brendan asked Stephen. “I have to know who is going to perform tomorrow.”

“The Who,” Stephen replied as he thought more.

“The bands that were going to play tomorrow?”

“No, no,” Stephen replied, correcting him. “The Who is going to perform tomorrow. Let’s see ... we got Canned Heat, John Sebastion, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin. I think Sunday it will be The Band, Jimi Hendrix, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears.”

“Jimi Hendrix!” Brendan said, pumping his fists up in the air.

“Looking forward to hearing more Jefferson Airplane,” Tiffany said.

“I like Jefferson Airplane,” the pregnant woman replied. It was the first time that she said something since she sat down. It grabbed Stephen’s attention as he really focused his gaze on her.

He did notice that her voice had an accent that he couldn’t recognize. It almost had a Spanish accent, but it was something he quickly pushed away. It just didn’t sound right. She had a foreign look, but he could tell that her English was excellent.

Stephen had a long look at the woman. He kind of figured that the woman’s boyfriend or husband was coming to attend pretty soon or was delayed from the concert somehow. She was perfectly comfortable as he looked at her body for a brief moment. He had to admit that she was beautiful to look at, even with her pregnant figure. She sat completely flat on her rear end as she used her hands to anchor her back. Stephen could tell that both she and Theo were braless underneath their shirts as he could see their nipples push against the fabric. The fact of seeing the nakedness was partially tarnished because some women were already topless for the concert. She was quiet but only because Theo seemed to take up most of the two women’s conversation. He did notice one thing, though. The pregnant woman didn’t have a ring on her finger.