Cornerstone Festival 2006 – Bushnell, IL - The Story

Cornerstone Festival 2006 – Bushnell, IL

THE REST OF THE STORY

Getting to this year’s Cornerstone Fest turned out to be a struggle for almost everyone my friends and I talked with. In the end, all that the struggles did was to make people surer that they were supposed to be on those grounds for one reason or another. It appeared that most of the people needed to get away from something or someone and be with those who allow them to be themselves. What an awesome blessing that is.

Of Frustration:

As I stated in an earlier post, I did not even consider going to Cornerstone Fest this year until friends decided to make it possible. One set offered ticket payment, another, offered gas money, and others, the sharing of food. After thinking within my insanity, I decided it would still be crazy to take advantage of these gifts but after smart dreams and conversations with smarter friends, I decided to make the trip.

Things became more stressful the got closer it got to making the trip to the former pig and cattle farm.


The woman who promised to watch my cats while I was away suddenly became inaccessible. I couldn’t get a return phone call or text message to verify any of the plans with her. This event set me thinking once again that I should cancel my trip and began making plans to that effect.

Sad, frustrated, and disappointed, I came to the realization that there is a reason there are so many placates in people’s yards around this city encouraging the citizens to HONOR [THEIR] PROMISES –

YEAH – I admit to still being a little bit miffed at what I have found here in the place that I have dubbed “Home of the lame, land of broken promises, city of the full of shit”.

I called my friend Joyce to ask her to pray for me and my attitude – to pray for relief from the hurt that was twisting in my heart. She responded that she would prayAND that she would LOVE to take care of my babies. She encouraged me to continue making my plans and look at the trip as a blessing from God. I’M SURE I became a traffic hazard due to the tears flooding my eyes seemingly from the well of grief in my heart while driving to work during that morning’s rush hour.

The Stuff:

Day 1 (Tuesday travel day): The plan was to leave by 10am so that my friends who were paying for my admission and I could meet up in Illinois around the same time. That all changed when I got to the grocery to get traveling food to find out that something went wacky with my Paycheck so that it was not showing on my account. NICE!….Thankfully, I had filled up on gas days before so that was not an issue. What was an issue was the LOST money AND the embarrassment of being denied at the checkout register.

Being a holiday, I was unable to get this problem rectified. It also put me about 1-½ hours behind on heading out on the trip. AHHHHHHHHH! Maybe the fates were telling me to unpack the car and settle in.

OK – so I prayed and really believed that I needed to continue on my trip.

On the way, I received a call from my friends Zeb and Amanda, their car had broken down in Danville, IL and were in the process of working with a Good Samaritan who stopped to help them out. Since I was running so far behind schedule, I was able to stop in Danville to visit with them, offer help and weird, humor hear the diagnosis, and see the miracle of the car starting. Strangers can sometimes better friends those we have shared meals with. The guy who spent hours of his day helping my friends was resistant to give his name saying he did not want them to feel obligated to pay him for the help he offered. Finally, he gave Amanda his full name and address and then headed off to complete his day.

Before we headed back into our cars for the rest of the journey, Amanda told me of what they experienced before their helper stopped. She spoke of hearing people conversing loud enough for them to hear being encouraged by their friends and lovers to NOT stop and offer assistance to them. AHHHH again.

We hugged, chatted about nothing in particular, they gave me the money for my ticket in case we got separated again, and then headed off to complete our trip.

Mid-way, I found that one of my important exits was closed! AHHHHHHHH! Ring, ring to ZEB…”where do I go now?” He directed me around the way and it was all good.

Finally got to the Fest grounds, set up, etc.

Amanda, Zeb and I started thinking about the morning’s event and realized that if not for the being behind schedule, I would not have been able to stop to be with my friends in the Danville McDonald’s parking lot. I would have been at the fest grounds hours before them stuck outside of the gates without telephone contact. And we would not have been close enough for them to give me exits and road numbers to make it around the road closure. Also, their issue played into issues later in the week.

My camping partner, Amanda G, was hours late from her arrival time. She should have been on the grounds no later than an hour after me. When mid-night came and no Amanda G, I begin to let my full worry mode take over but couldn’t get a clear cell phone signal in the cornfields. DAMN sucky cell tower gods! I was finally able to get very bad reception near a row of Port-A-Lets on the dusty road. Amanda G had some issues come up decided to get a hotel because it was so late in the nearest town but was driving around because the local Holiday Inn was asking $135 for a one night, single stay. She decided to try coming back to the grounds since we were all up and looking for her, but her journey took her to the back gate. The back gate was not set up to take ticket money so they sent her to the front gate. When we did not hear from our friend in good time, the other camp mates and I started new “find a cell pocket on the grounds so we can find her”. I was finally able to contact Amanda G near the same Port-A-Lets as the first time. She got lost on her journey around the grounds in the dark roads through soy and cornfields. Amanda G decided to bite it and allow Holiday Inn to rob her.

My friends and I wished Amanda good travels and peace, then kissed Day 1 good night.

Day 2 (Wednesday): Amanda G. arrived on the grounds safe, rested, and sound Wednesday morning. We were all extremely happy to see her. Upon her arrival, our camp got busy helping her set up her camp area…we even called in recruits from near sites. Our new friend Larry was an awesome help.

During set up, out near neighbor from Missouri asked if I could move my car back a foot or two when we finished setting Amanda up so that he could get out for a run to town the next morning. He had a blow out of one of his pop-up tires a few miles from home. He changed the tire and decided to continue on the trek he made annually with his kids.

As he was telling his story, Larry related a tire issue on the way to which our friends Dave and Tom added that they had a brand new front tire blow out on their truck about 80 miles into the trip from North Carolina. AHHHHHHHH – we all commented on the weirdness of the car issues then parted ways.

Amanda G, Joanne, Suzy, and I decided to rearrange our cars before heading out for the day’s events. All was going smoothly until time for me to move my car – key in the ignition – CLICK, CLICK…NO-DAMN-THING!!!!! Nothing like the engine turning over. OK – I take it back, the lights and radio worked but the engine decided to take a vacation.

My friends and I looked at the car as best as we knew, we tinkered, and sighed, and put our hands on our hips, and still nothing. After enough of this, we decided to call it a day and try to find help during the day.

Day 3 (Thursday): I ran into the family of a friend of mine from Nashville and told them of my car woes. They told me that one of their members was going to mechanics school and was supposed to be on the grounds that afternoon and the rest of the weekend. They would send him over to take a look. The plan was to text message me since for some reason I could received TM’s in the cornfields but not “real calls”.

Hope is a good thing.

Day 4 (Friday): The day was going pretty smoothly until I begin to feel a little ill. Not long after arriving back at the campsite, Amanda G arrived with an overwhelming desire to get off the grounds (we believe that was God). When she started her car, a pretty little light came on.

Have I said AHHHHHHHHH yet?

She popped her hood; we checked fluids, etc. and decided that she needed to get her coolant checked out. She made the choice to drive off the grounds to find coolant. ON her near travels, she came upon a full service gas station and pulled in. They seconded our diagnosis BUT were glad she stopped instead of picking up some generic OTC coolant. In that one little stop, she learned that her car takes a special kind of fluid. Using something other could have damaged the car and forced her to make up new cuss words.

I still think it was God telling her to start the car and get help.

Later, I was talking to my new friend Ryan and told him about the car stuff, he told me that he used to work as a starter on a car lot. He said that he could not fix a problem but could let me know if it was the battery, starter, or alternator. That was good enough for me. We made plans for me to text him when I left the Eucharist Saturday. He would come down to the campsite when he got the message – or let me know via TM when he would be able to meet me there.

Still no word from my friend’s nephew.

During the Psalter’s show, my phone begin to ring…Ringing in the land if the children of the corn was surprising enough, but I was able to see registered who was calling – my babies baby-sitter, Joyce.

I left the tent and decided to try to call he back scared that something was very wrong with my furry butt kids – OH SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!! I got an immediate clear connection. Joyce said she was calling just to let me know that all was going well and that she totally LOVES my little 4-legged family. What a sweet call.

After hanging up with Joyce AND not moving an inch, I decide to make another phone call – NOTHING!!! No connection, no bars on the phone – NADA!!!

OK – God wanted me to know that my kids were in good hands. I could live with that.

I think I skipped the rest of the night.

Day 5 (Saturday): The day started pretty normally then moved on to awesome.

Liturgical Worship and the message were wonderful. So glad I went. Kemper Crabb delivered.

I ran into Ryan on the way back to the campsite…no need to TM. He was available to look/listen to the car at that time. He asked if I had a screwdriver or pliers – to which I answered in the negative. There was supposed to be a screwdriver in the booth he was working but he could not find them. Instead, he grabbed a pair of scissors and we began our journey.

Once at the car, me on the inside, he outside waiting for me to pop the hood, three random guys walking down the dusty road approached Ryan. They stopped when they noticed Ryan had a pair of scissors in his hands because one of the guys had gum stuck in his hair and needed it cut out of the back.

When the car hood came up, Rick asked what was going on. Ryan told him the short story to which Rick offered that he worked on cars. AHHHHHHH turned to UMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Rick tinkered around doing all the manly mechanic things I guess manly mechanic peeps are supposed to do under the hood and under the car. Still nothing. I started getting scared that I now owned a very large and expensive radio.

The frustration was beginning to register on Rick’s face and shoulders until he finally said, “OK, we’re doing this the old fashion way”. With that, he laid hands on my engine and battery and prayed a very humble manly prayer raising God’s promises back up to Him. At the ‘AMEN’, Rick said, “OK, try it again”. NOTHING! Not even the click I had come to know and curse.

Suddenly (and I do swear that I saw the lightbulb come on over Rick’s head) he did some banging and then called out “Try it again” and as if startled from a deep slumber, the engine came to life. I hugged everyone…thanked everyone, and tried not to cry. Rick and his friends would not even take a water or soda for their troubles.

I don’t know if Rick and his buddies are human or Angels but they are forever Angels to me. What a blessing to see firsthand that there are honorable, praying men still in this world.

Ryan is also an Angel because I am convinced that his willingness to assist helped set up the event that brought the ultimate help.

I am still amazed that my greatest helps lately have come through strangers and near strangers.

Maybe that’s what this move is all about, letting go of the known and starting completely over.

Maybe that’s another post for the future.

OH – did I say that I met my Guardian Angel and he’s hot, hot, hot???????!!!!!!!