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Cornerstone 1999
and my strange adventures

Wednesday, June 30, 1999

I arrived at Cornerstone with my $75 for a week's admission and $20 of spending money that I expected to last all week. Not seeing anywhere to park, I went to the very end of the parking and parked in a tight spot surrounded by cars. I walked down through the roads toward the main food area. When I passed by the Cornerstone Magazine tent, two people from the area said hi to me and let me have some cotton candy. I talked for a while and found out that I was the only Bushnelltonian they had seen so far. After talking, I left and started walking again. I bought a choc. chip cookie from the ice cream stand by the fest office. It was filled with Ice Cream and it tasted so good! Then I started walking in the general direction of the main stage. As I passed throught the camping rea, a man handed me a bumper sticker for ChristianRock.Net. I passed by the ice cream stand. I bought another cookie sandwich at that ice cream stand. Like I said, they are good! Then I continued toward the main stage and saw another ice cream stand. This time I got an orange chill. It was frozen solid. I saw that the stage was in the process of being built, so I continued my journey by walking the opposite direction. I went back to my car to put the bumper sticker in my car. When I got to my car, I realized that it was too crowded to open my door. I had to throw it in through my still-open sunroof just to get it in my car. While eating my orange chill, I started walking down "Main Street". Suddenly somebody called out "Hi, Chad!". I looked up, and right in front of me was Becky Broady eating her STRAWBERRY Chill. If she had noticed me walking any later we would have run into each other. I started walking with her and we talked as we visited the people we knew at each ice cream stand, and I bought ice cream at each ice cream stand. She had to work at one of them, and after she got started I walked down a street and saw another friend from Bushnell. I started walking and talking with her, and I found out she was on her way out of Cornerstone to work. I walked with her through the parking lot to her car and saw her get out her keys. She has the same keychain as me! She left, and I walked toward the road at the main entrance. I saw someone blowing bubbles! I went over and said "Bubbles!" and she thought I was making fun of her. There were three or four of them. They said they were from Rockford, IL and I told them I was from Bushnell. They started yelling at some of the cars. One of them exclaimed "These aren't my pants," and I had no idea what that meant but I thought it was funny. I started asking silly questions to the drivers like "How many teeth do you have" and stuff like that. Then one girl from Rockford started asking some of the cars "Do you have any gum?" A driver in one of the cars said yes, and she replied with "Can I have a piece?" and the driver said yes again, so we watched her run up to the car and get a piece of gum! I recognized one of the cars that came through. It was the Broady van. They had come to set up their camp site. They saw me there and came and picked me up. Our camp site consisted of a van and 4 tents. After a little trouble, we got the whole camp set up and we met our Canadian neighbors. Then all of them left, and I had to find something else to do. I knew I wanted to go to the opening ceremony that started at 7, but it wasn't 7:00 yet. I walked around through the camp sites and I passed by someone I thought I knew. I turned around and went back. It was Lindsay Hess, someone I really didn't know very well at that time. We started talking for a while about computers and stuff. She gave me her e-mail address and the URL of her web page. We got up and started walking around while we were talking. We walked all over the campground and talked as we went. We walked past the opening ceremony while Buck was playing. Then we walked to a nearby ice cream stand, where I bought something. Lindsay was talking to the person working at the ice cream stand. I said "I'll be right back" and in a flash I was on my way, running toward one of my favorite people in the world! LARRY THE CUCUMBER!!! Since this was Larry, as soon as I got up there, I gave him a BIG hug and possibly saying "I love you." I think the person under the suit was totally confused. Then I went back to the ice cream stand. Yeah, that was pretty cool. We walked around some more, and then she had to leave. I remember saying that I would meet Frank at the tents at 10:00, but it was only about 9:00. I walked around the entire campground in the dark and tried to walk around without getting bored. After some exploring, I knew the grounds better and headed for the camp site. About the time I reached the campground, I decided to have a little fun. I got in the largest tent, and was going to scare Becky out of her mind. Becky and Frank were there about 5 min. after I got in the tent. I was waiting patiently. I heard them talk, but their voices slowly faded away. Time passed. I waited patiently. It was now 11:00. I had been in the tent doing nothing for an hour. It started to rain. The tent was a little leaky. About 11:30, they came back. I heard them talking about me, wondering where I was. Becky reached down and grabbed the zipper to the tent. When she opened the tent, I yelled and she was scared beyond words until she saw me. They had been out looking for me in the rain. We went to our tents and tried to get to sleep. It got wet inside. It got wetter. Ok, I got soaked. Our tent was leaking BAD. We got out and Becky was heading for the van because her tent was leaking. We tried two of the other tents and they were even wetter than the one we were in. We got in the van, talked a while, then went to sleep.

Thursday, July 1, 1999

We woke up early, because Terry Broady was coming to pick up Becky and Frank at 7:00 this morning. I drove myself home, and Frank and Becky got their ride from Terry. I drove Frank back to camp and we got there at about 8:30. We went to the Gallery Tent for Breakaway, the morning worship service. First, the band "Buck" played worship songs, and then a man named Efrem Smith spoke about "Young Heroes for God". He was the one of the funniest speakers I had ever heard, and his message was powerful. We also saw the first part of the afternoon Breakaway. I had to work most of the afternoon and I worked 7-11 pm in the evening, so there was no reason to come back that night. I slept at home in my comfortable bed.

Friday, July 2, 1999

I had to work all day today (9:00 am to 7:00 pm). When I got off work and came home, Tony was at my house. He told me that he wanted to go to Cornerstone. He followed behind me in his car all the way to Cornerstone. This was his first visit to C-Stone. We parked at the beginning of the parking lot right next to the garbage dumpster (a foreshadowing of our later adventure). He hadn't gotten his ticket yet, so we walked in line with the cars up to the ticket peoples. After getting his armband on, we walked straight to the main stage. By the time we got down to the bottom of the stage's hill, the Electrics had just finished and the announcents had started. We went over to the stand by the stage and I bought a C-Stone '99 T-shirt. I was already wearing a black Taco Bell shirt but I didn't want to carry it so I wore it on top of my other shirt. It was hot outside. Bad idea! I decided to take my new t-shirt to my car to keep it, so Tony and I started up the side of the hill. When we got to the top of the hill, we saw three local friends: Becky Broady & Michelle Reische, both wearing their "trademark" daisy hat thingies along with Brian Chenoweth. We sat down and talked for a while. We stayed there for about 1/2 an our while we listened to the Ragamuffin Band and ate pizza. Tony and I left for a minute because I wanted a Mug Root Beer, though I decided not to take my shirt to my car. When we got to the intersection of the two roads, we saw a flat truck with garbage cans on the back. There were three men on the back of the truck. They claimed to be Mr. Trash USA and the first two runners-up. I instantly became a fan of the MTU men. Mr. Trash USA offered me an empty can of Mt. Dew with a Star Wars character on it, so I took it. Then I realized he was wearing gloves when he gave it to me, so I gave it back to him. He then tried to sell it to the people around. He said that it was "25 cents" and that Carman himself drank from it. After a few minutes, it was time for the trash men to get to work. Tony and I were still loyal fans, so we followed behind them on their trek. During the trip, they had random people cheer for the MTU Fan Club. Soon, we came across a girl from Pittsburgh, PA that was willing to join our fan club. The three of us went on. We followed them all the way down the roads to the main entrance where we took a five minute break. Kathleen, the Pennsylvanian, was still with our group. Others joined us, but soon left. We started going again. After the first can that Mr. Trash picked up, he looked around through it. At the top, was a gallon jug that had liquid at the bottom and writing in marker on the outside. It said that the content of the jug was Levi's urine. Nobody knows for sure who Levi is and if he is reading right now, I want him to e-mail me. When we reached the end of the route, we stopped and the men gave us their gloves. The glove I got is in my room in a Ziploc bag! Kathleen's smelled like grape soda. Tony's and mine smelled like garbage!

Saturday, July 3, 1999

After the trash party, we all went to the Pittsburgh camp site. We talked for a long time. Tony went home during this time. Then the Five Iron Frenzy concert started at the nearby encore tent. I couldn't hear the words, but Kat was singing along, so I had to listen to her. It was very hot there, because there were hundreds or thousands sweating together. You could even see the sweat in the air. That's why we decided to go back to the camp site again. Kat "forced" me to listen to all three Five Iron Frenzy CD's. I loved every song, but especially the songs about pants, which finally let me understand what the Rockford people meant when they yelled out the phrase "These aren't my pants!". She also made me listen to Silage, another band that sounds like it would be really hard-core, but the Sappy Intermission isn't even close. They were just as funny if not funnier than Five Iron Frenzy. It was getting late, and I had to work the next day. That was when I decided to not go to sleep at all. Soon after deciding this, the rest of the Pittsburgh group came back and we all started staring at the clouds. We saw several interesting things. We saw a fish eat the moon! After some more cloud-gazing, the Pittsburgers went to sleep, so I had to leave. I started walking toward "Johnny" because it had been a while. On my way, I met a group of people standing by the lake talking and staring at the clouds as well. One of them mistook me for someone they knew, and after the awkwardness, I got back to cloud-gazing. I saw a cloud that looked like a dog running, but it looked like the side view and the top view at the same time depending on how you looked at it. I also saw a pregnant anteater laying on its back float by. I really needed to visit with Johnny, so I left real quick and told them not to say anything while I was gone. When I got back, I felt much better and had a short conversation with the group of strangers. They too soon decided to go to sleep, so I was left alone trying to find someone who was awake. I started walking. I got all the way to the Encore tents and a guy came up to me asking me to help him find a parking lot. He wanted one with a barbed wire fence, so I guessed that it would be the one by the edge of the campground, which it was. I walked over with him to the lot and tried to help him find his car. I noticed the faint smell of alcohol when he talked, but I tried not to let that stop me from helping him. We couldn't find his car. He told me the story of how he got here. He rode out to Cornerstone with two friends. He was hiding in the trunk and didn't pay for his ticket. I led him over to the telephones so he could call his two friends collect. He tried twice, but the operator said that the call couldn't be completed. Forgetting reasonable action, I offered him a ride to his home 40 miles away. I took him over to my car by the entrance and we got in the car. I started the car and began to back out of where I was parked. The car went dead. I tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. I checked all the fuses and tried to start the car for about 5 minutes but nothing worked. That was about the time that I realized that the car was still in reverse, so I put the car in park and started up the car and left. I had him listen to Christian music during the entire trip. After I got to his house I let him out and turned to go home. By this time, the sun had started coming out. When I got back to the campground, I got out and began to walk for a while. It was now about 5:30. I checked to see if Kat was awake or Frank or Becky was awake. I continued this until about 9 or 10:00 am (How boring!). I noticed people sleeping outside in the sun, probably getting sunburned. Finally, I was walking past Kat's tent and I saw her walking down the road towards me, so I caught up with her and started talking to her. The two of us went to the morning worship together. At the beginning, they were throwing CD's out from the stage, and one of them landed under the table next to me. I dived down to catch it, but instead the table caught my head. I was holding my head, and Kathleen was holding the CD that I almost got. It was a Five Iron Frenzy CD. Since she had all of their albums she gave it to me. This was a really cool situation for me. Just yesterday I heard that band for the first time, and now I get the CD for no charge! After Buck played I had to leave and go to work. I got back at about 10:30 at night. I ran to the main stage just in time to hear Jars of Clay. I wanted to hear the end of Burlap to Cashmere, but I was too late. During the concert, a really loud "fireworks accessory" went off. Jars of Clay stopped in mid-speaking and joked about a guy at the top of the hill with a shotgun (who didn't exist). At the end of Jars of Clay, I met up with Frank and someone he met, and we walked over to the lake to see the fireworks display. It was a great show. After that, the three of us went around singing the song that never ends. We got several people to join us and sing, while we marched around the grounds. Frank went to sleep, but me and his friend continued to go around singing the song. Later, we passed by two guys with guitars by the main entrance. We stopped and listened. They were singing some new songs. They called themselves PKEK (Preacher's Kid, Entertainer's Kid). They sung a beautiful song called "Ode to Johnny", a song about Johnny on the Spot. They sung a song and the words go something like "Is it hot in here, or is it just you?". They had some good songs including one about that night's fireworks display. I couldn't keep from laughing. In order to get up for church, I decided to sleep at home and use my alarm clock. I got home about 2:00 Sunday morning and went to sleep.

Sunday, July 4, 1999

I woke up on time! I went to church, and after church I went home and checked my e-mail and ate lunch. Then I went to work. I had to work all day and close. I left work at 10:00 pm and went home and changed my clothes as fast as I could, so I could still see Newsboys. I drove to the gates of Cornerstone, found a spot to park, and started to run. On my way, I decided to stop and look at the t-shirts in the exhibition tents. I bought a "Poop on Satan" shirt and a bright green Larry-The-Cucumber shirt. Then, I ran straight for the Newsboys concert. I just saw the last song and then it was over. I met up with Frank again, and his friend told me about them starting "The song that never ends" with the Newsboys crowd and they got a big section of the crowd to join in. I walked around the grounds for a while. Then I went home and slept. The week was finally over, and I enjoyed it so much. Even though I worked all week, I had an amazing time.