In God We Trust

At the beginning of morning gathering this morning a participant at Fest who is a Physician's Assistant shared that we have two people here who have confirmed Covid.  We were encouraged to test if we have any symptoms, to wear masks and to wash our hands often.  I am being way more careful.

Kathy Guisewite was the storyteller/poet at this morning's gathering.  She is also one of my cabin mates.  Kathy has creativity pouring out of every pore.  Her voice and her words invite me to fall back in the safety of her storytelling.  She was paired with Jeffrey and Jenny, who bring an amazing combination of spirituality, depth and fun.  

Instead of going to a workshop today I headed into Eldora to do my laundry.  I have now been gone for eight days and I was running out of underwear.  I didn't want to wash anything in the sink because the sinks are surrounded with dead bugs.  I am so not a camper!  I paid $4 to wash and $1.50 to dry.  "Wow!" is all I can say.  I think if you really want to know a community you should go to the laundromat during the county fair.  

I was back in time for lunch and had a delightful visit with Jim Lehman.  We ate outside and stayed after the meal to talk about Brethren Volunteer Service; storytelling; and what happens when you lose a soulmate.  It was a rich conversation.  The chance to have profound conversations is another reason I love Fest.

I spent much of the afternoon memorizing my story for tonight's campfire.  I was sitting under the shade of a tree and I kept hearing music around the corner.  I found Jenny teaching Clara (one of my favorite human beings) how to play "I'll Fly Away" on Jenny's accordion, which she has named Delores.  

It threatened rain all day and the weather app said we should expect rain around 6-7 p.m.  I really didn't want to have indoor campfire on the night I tell the story.  They set up campfire outside.  Greg and Rhonda did the music.  Carrie Fry-Miller sang a song she wrote about boogers and toilet paper and then told the children a story.  I was very excited about my story for campfire.  It was based on a true story told to me by a woman I became email friends with during the pandemic. It is amazing how the time of isolation helped create new friendships. The story includes a head-on collision, Gideon Bibles, a fire and cash.  I asked her permission to write the story with some adaptations.  She gave me carte blanche permission, for which I was deeply grateful.  After I wrote it I sent it to my son and he wrote back that he loved it.  He told me that it was in the genre of Coen brothers.  I thought that was a huge compliment.  I titled it In God We Trust.

When I told it, I could tell I had people with me.  They became more and more quiet as the story progressed.  It isn't a story that ties up in a neat bow.  When I sat down Greg and Rhonda played and sang the song Money, Money, Money originally performed by Abba.  Then they transitioned into a song they had written called Treasures.  It was the perfect ending for what I did.  However, I could tell that Coen Brothers is not the usual genre for the Fest.  I had several people tell me that I ended the story too soon.  I told them I told them a true story and they needed to chew on what happened.  Besides, if I had cleaned it up for them it would not have had the same impact.  

We moved under a large tent for the late night concert.  Good thing because it began to steadily rain.  Peg Lehman and Shawn Kirchner were the musicians for the concert.  Shawn grew up in Iowa and this was the church camp he came to as a child and youth.  There was a fairly large Iowa contingent that came just for the concert.  His father came and that was sweet.  I sat behind his dad in the tent so I got to watch him smile with pride and sing along at times.  Shawn has an ability get a group fully involved in music.  He brings a winsome, soulful joy in that kind of space.  At the end of the concert his father went up to the mic and said, "I love the devil out of this child and I have tried to put a little more devil into him."

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Hump Day at the Fest

By Wednesday of Fest people are tired.  The heat, sleeping in cabins and all the activities start to takes its toll and people comment on how long Fest is.  Tomorrow people will start to realize it is almost over and lament that Fest isn't longer.

Morning Gathering this morning featured a story by Jim Lehman and music by Peg Lehman and Shawn Kirchner.  It was excellent. I led a workshop right after the gathering.  I called it "In a Parallel Universe".  It included a ritual of candle lighting and a time for people to share in dyads.  It went well because people are ready and willing to jump in and participate.  At the end of our time together we poured the wax of our individual candles over the center candle and created a thing of beauty.

After lunch I drove into Eldora, Iowa to look around.  Some people have been going to the local pool to swim in the afternoon because the lake near the camp has e coli and it has been suggested we not swim in it.  The pool has five large slides.  It looks way more fun than the local pool where I grew up.  The fact that the Hardin County Fair and the Fourth of July are happening in Eldora at the same time means that the American flag is prominently displayed proudly and often. Thursday night there will be a rodeo.  If I weren't telling a story tomorrow night I would go to the rodeo just for the experience.

I drove over to Pine Lake, which is a 3 mile walk from the camp down a mosquito and tick infested trail.  Driving seemed way more enjoyable. It is a lovely lake.

Before campfire began tonight we had a time of drumming.  It was such an intergenerational extravaganza.

Jonathan Hunter told installment two of his Erlene and Fred story.  He is a masterful storyteller.  We sang a plethora of camp songs.  The camp staff even led us in two camp songs.  

Then we had an evening concert with cello, oboe and violin.  It was glorious. I went to bed in a space of deep contentment.  I feel very zen here.  I am sure it is due to the delicious combination of Fest and retirement.

Doing What I Love

I slept fitfully last night.  I told a story at morning gathering today.  I wrote a story about my sister being arrested when she was nine months pregnant.  I loved the story I wrote but I get so anxious about whether I would forget important parts as I told it.  Each time I awoke I practiced it again.  

Today is forecast as the hottest, most humid day of the week.  It truly is miserable.  It is the kind of day that you take a morning shower and as soon as you walk outside you feel like you need to go right back and take another shower.  I arose early to shower before the Men Only time in the co-ed bathroom.  So I was dressed and ready long before breakfast.  I sat outside with a couple from Modesto as we sipped coffee and did our daily Wordle.  

I was teamed with Mike Stern for Morning Gathering.  Mike is a second cousin of mine.  I have never been paired with Mike before.  We worked well together.  He writes perfect songs to go with my story about my Vietnam War protesting sister.  Or may I should say that I wrote a good story to go along with his conscientious objector songs.  Either way, it went well.

As soon as Morning Gathering was over I came back to my air-conditioned cabin and began memorizing my story for campfire on Thursday night.  It is my longest story and the one that will take the most time to memorize.  

After lunch I joined an impromptu group, led by Jonathan, to take a closer look at the parable we title "The Unjust Judge and the Persistent Widow".  There are so few places in my life in which a group sits around and has an in depth discussion about biblical passages.  It is my bliss.

Every year at Fest there is one afternoon for a women's circle.  I always go.  We were asked to share (if we wanted to) about that for which we are yearning.  A circle like this allows us to move to a deeper depth with each other.  There will also be a circle for men and a circle for all genders.  

Campfire got moved indoors tonight because of the imminent threat of rain.  Moving campfire indoors causes something to be lost.  It begins with jokes and stories or songs from campers.  It went long and the musicians cut most of their songs and we went right into the storyteller's offering.  When we are outside people move around when they are antsy and when people whisper it isn't disturbing. 

The concert was Chris Good and Rhonda and Greg.  They are all includers and so they invited up many additional musicians to join them.  One of the things I love about Fest is the way that people get to be part of the scene.  Fest raises up musicians and storytellers and artists.  I feel so lucky to be here.

It was a glorious day of Wordle, storytelling, biblical exegesis, connecting with women and music!

A Brethren Fourth of July

I had to be reminded several times today that it was the Fourth of July.  There were subtle reminders.  The staff at Camp Pine Lake served us cheesecake with blueberries, cherries and whipped cream.  As we sat outdoors in the evening for a concert we could hear fireworks in the distance. But for the most part I was happily oblivious to the traditions that are deemed as patriotic in most cities on the Fourth of July. 

The day started with a thunderstorm and pouring rain.  I am so enamored by rain since it happens so seldom in Southern California and when it does it is more often than not just a misting.  People whipped out their umbrellas and raincoats and the morning gathering got moved inside.  Barbara West, Rhonda and Greg Baker and Chris Good were in charge.  It was masterful.  I found myself just sitting and smiling through the whole experience.  I love being here.  I love these people.  I love the community that exists in this moveable event.  I love how amazingly gifted people are and what shines forth when the rules are removed. How blessed I am to begin my retirement at Fest.  

I led a morning workshop called "Revisiting the Good Samaritan."  It was based on reading Amy-Jill Levine's book Short Stories of Jesus.  I didn't feel that good about it but was glad for the 10 people who honored me with their presence.  

The day was brutally hot with the humidity close to 90%.  It seemed to be the only conversation I was capable of having. "Boy, it's hot," I said to anyone who came anywhere close to me. I spent much of the afternoon in my air-conditioned cabin working on memorizing my story for the next day.  I can only memorize one story at a time.  I can't have more than one story live in my body at a time.

As I mentioned previously, campfire begins with children telling jokes.  People who are not the designated storytellers or musicians sign up to offer something at campfire.  Someone led us in a song her dad taught her.  Another person told us the story of her adventure in Germany.  Three young adults sang a song together accompanied by ukelele and tongue drum.  Peg Lehman and Mike Stern were the designated musicians for the evening.  

Jonathan Hunter was the storyteller for the evening.  I am a huge fan of Jonathan's stories.  He has a series of stories he has written about a woman named Erlene who was saved from the streets of Hollywood by a mechanic named Fred and they live in a mobile home in Gorman.  He told an Erlene and Fred story.  I love listening to Jonathan's stories and I love talking with him about the art of creating stories.  I told him that maybe we should do a Netflix series called Storytellers at Fest Drinking Coffee like Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.  I'm sure there would be a big audience for it.

After campfire we had an evening concert with Jenny and Jeffrey.  I love their music and their obvious love and joy in each other.  Jenny plays an accordion she calls Delores and Jeff plays the guitar.  They did some old gospel songs, John Mayer, etc.  They say that their style of music is "Songs We Love to Sing."  It was so brutally hot and humid that they were wet with perspiration and their glasses kept fogging over.  Bless them for sharing their music in the heat.

I fell asleep in my cabin with a smile on my face.  I love Fest.

Song and Story Fest Bound

My destination for this leg of the journey was Camp Pine Lake in Eldora, Iowa.  I am a storyteller at Song and Story Fest.  I find it to be a week of goodness and joy.  Since this was my first Sunday not being a pastor, I planned to arise without an alarm to wake me.  I am staying in a hotel in Kearney, NE and someone had set the alarm clock in the room for 5:20 a.m.  I didn't even know I had an alarm in the room until it went off at the crack of dawn.  So much for my plan.  I was so rudely awaken that I couldn't go back to sleep.  

I was planning to pick up a friend at the Omaha Airport and drive her to Song and Story Fest.  Her plane was scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m. so I had some time to kill.  I was reading and writing when she texted me that her flight had been delayed and she couldn't possibly get a connecting flight. She told me she would figure out her own ride from Omaha and to go ahead.  So I hurriedly headed off for Iowa.

I made one stop along the way.  After locating the best pie in every state I would travel through, I decided to research the best ice cream in every state.  The best ice cream in Nebraska happened to be not far out of my way.  I decided to have ice cream for lunch at Coneflower Creamery.  It was a good decision.  I had Butter Brickle, Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip and Sun-ripened Strawberry ice cream.  The first two should not be missed!

When I hit Iowa I listened to the playlist of songs I had created.  My favorites were Iowa Stubbornness from Music Man and The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines.  Iowa is beautiful.  There are gentle rolling hills and lush greenness....and the clouds....oh how I love clouds.

I arrived at the Camp just before dinner.  I unpacked my car and tried to make my bunk bed with flat sheets.  I am so not a camper.  Running my extension cord to plug in all my needed electronics was dangerous.  Hiking to the bathroom is my least favorite thing to do. I must love Song and Story Fest.

After dinner we had campfire.  All campfires begin with children telling jokes.  At the opening campfire everyone introduces themselves.  There are around 70 people here.  Then every musician sings or plays a song.  Every storyteller tells a short story.  I told the story of a hateful voicemail left at the La Verne Church of the Brethren.  The theme for this year's Fest is Healing What Divides Us.  It felt like an appropriate story.  

Next on the schedule was a folk dance with live music.  The band of musicians was incredible.  I started out watching but my extroverted self felt the need to participate.  My 61 year old body reminded me that I wanted to sit back down and watch.  I was in bed and asleep on my "comfortable" bunk bed by 11 p.m.....after hiking to the bathroom to brush my teeth, of course.

The Tragedy in Big Springs

I left Parachute, CO this morning for Kearney, NE.  I just wanted to get there as fast as possible.  Last night I decided I did want to make one stop. I stayed up last night reading Anyone But Duane.  It is about a man who, the week after he graduated from college in 1965, robbed a bank in Big Springs, NE.  He killed three people and left another person paralyzed. I am reading the book because my father was Duane Pope's religion professor in college.  My grandfather was the president of the college.  Everyone who knew Duane was so shocked by what he did.  They had experienced him as an exemplary student and human being.  The FBI asked my grandfather to go on national radio and ask Duane to turn himself in and Duane listened to him.  He is now serving a life sentence at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. 

Before I fell asleep last night I looked up how close I would be to Big Springs, NE on my drive today.  I felt so sad for the tragedy that had happened in this little town.  Big Springs was right on my way.  My plan was to stop there and find a city park where I could eat my tuna salad sandwich. The population of Big Springs is 400.  What I found is that there isn't much there there. I only saw one person...a man in an electric wheelchair who found my little picnic very fascinating. 

I made it to Kearney by 6 p.m., did a load of laundry and took the required rapid test to  be able to attend Song and Story Fest.  I tested negative.  :)

 

In Pursuit of Pickle Pie

Brett was up working on his Key Lime pies before 4 a.m.  His home always smells amazing. I popped out of bed by 5:30 and headed out by 7 a.m.  Brett sent me out the door with scones, chocolate chunk cookies and a loaf of sourdough bread.  

Desert Bread (Brett and Brendon's business) was highlighted in an article by Food and Wine naming the best pie in every state.  Their rhubarb galette is a thing of beauty and Food and Wine shared a photo.  So I looked at the rest of the article to see where the best pie is in each state I will travel through on this road trip.  According to Food and Wine, Sunglow Restaurant in Bicknell, UT serves the best pie in their state.  It is a pickle pie.  For some reason I couldn't shake the idea of trying this horrible idea.  On the way to a slice of pie I passed the childhood home of Butch Cassidy, the oldest of 13 children born to Mormon pioneers and an American train and bank robber.  I love going off the beaten path and finding the unexpected.

I got to Bicknell by 1 p.m. and picked up a slice of pickle pie.  

I didn't want to eat it inside so I took it to go.  I was on Highway 24 and was headed for Capitol Reef National Park. I made the incorrect assumption that there would be roadside picnic tables along the way.  I assumed wrong but the view was stunning.  I kept driving until I got to Goblin Valley State Park. I had seen images of this fascinating place and I wanted to see it for myself.  Goblin Valley is filled with rock formations created by deposits laid 170 million years ago by an inland sea that have been sculpted by forces of nature.  Technically they are called hoodoos.  It was worth the $20 entrance fee.  This formation is called the Three Sisters.  I would call it the Triplets, holding our binary boxes at bay.

Overlooking the Vally of the Goblins was a large pavilion of picnic tables.  I guess if you have to pay $20 to get in they will provide a picnic table.  I got out my pickle pie and ate it as I watched families hike past all the hoodoos. It tasted like pumpkin pie with sweet pickles.  It wasn't horrible.  It wasn't amazing.  I didn't eat it all.  

I decided against the hot hike down into the valley but I did walk through some of the hoodoos.

By the time I got back to Highway 24 it was already 4 p.m.  I had hoped to turn south off the I-70 towards Moab and go to Dead Horse Point Trail, which is a great place to view Horseshoe Bend.  I have always wanted to go there.  I was trying to decide if I had it in me to take another detour and then the I-70 slowed to a complete stop.  There were signs on the side of the road that said, "Emergency Scene Ahead".  That decided it for me.  Getting to Horseshoe Bend in the dark would be of no use.   I arrived to my hotel in Parachute, Colorado to a double rainbow.

Here are the things I learned and relearned today:

• Utah is beyond beautiful.  I would love to plan a trip here in the autumn with no concrete plans other than to wander.
• Always remember time zones.  I had forgotten that I would lose an hour today.
• Clouds make me happy.  
• Wearing overalls on a road trip is not the best idea.
• People outside of California are not wearing masks.....anywhere.