Friday started at 7am for me. I finished packing and began preparing breakfast for a friend who was coming over to see me off before I left on a 2 week leg of this tour. The smell and sizzle of bacon filled my house while we chatted over coffee about what I was expecting to take place over the ensuing weeks.
The band met, loaded up and started on our journey at 10am. Load in at the venue was at 4pm, and there was a 6 hour drive ahead of us to Franklin, Indiana. We were 10 minutes outside of town and rolling up to a stop sign when a loud noise preceded the van sinking and scraping the ground on the front right side. It sounded like the tire popped.
When we got out we realized the wheel was pinned against the wheel well and the ball-joint was broken. This immediately caused rejoicing on our parts…. A funny thing to do insight of the circumstances, but in about 5 more minutes we would have been on a highway traveling 70mph and this same incident would have ended very differently. Ever since our van spun out on the highway last winter going 60mph, hitting a guard rail and we ending up facing the opposite direction of traffic, we have learned to be ever thankful for our lives and appreciating where we are and where we could have ended up. This incident made me think, “this is going to be a good tour.” Anytime extreme opposition comes your way there is usually something worthwhile on the other side of it.
Towing Piapyamilla (pro-nounced pee-a-pie-a-mee-ah) - the name of our van...
AAA came to tow our van and after finally deciding on a place to take the damaged van we remembered the repair shop that had just worked the ball-joints a few months ago and they might cover the repair work they had previously done. We were trying to find a place that could at least look at the van and tell us what kind of damage there was and how long it would take. If there was any way they could fix it by 3pm, we could still make our show. By this time, it was 12pm and time was ticking. The repair shop looked at the van, fixed it in 45 minutes, and had us on our way free of charge.
We got to The Gear venue in Franklin a little before 8pm with enough time to load our amps on stage before the show started. While Quiet Science was setting up we were out by our trailer and had a bit of discussion on some issues within the band and the conversation got heated. We ended up walking away without a resolve. One thing about a band, or a group of any nature, is the dynamics of difference of opinions and fostering a unity for the common goal. Sometimes people see differently on the way to achieve the goal and its working those things out that prove to be a challenge within groups. The band usually comes together before the show to talk and pray and when we walked into a back room of the venue I could tell we needed to settle the previous discussion. One thing this band has always strived to achieve is unity among the members. If we aren’t in unity and harmony, then how can we stand up and stage and present ourselves as a single band? So we talk, we prayed, swallowed some pride, and remembered that despite the details that are worth discussing, ultimately reaching people is the first priority.
After the show a woman came up to me and said her friend really wanted to meet me. I walked over and introduced myself to a group of people and was introduced to a girl named Rosannah. She began to tell me the following story.
A year and 7 months ago her mom passed away. Her mom was working at a food store in the shipping and receiving department and a pallet of water came into the loading area that was sitting kind of awkward. When she put her hands up to correct the pallet of water the whole thing fell over on her crushing her from the waist up. She was rushed to ICU and was on life support. After about a week Rosannah’s family had to make a decision on whether they should pull the plug. After painfully dwelling on the issue, a mother and wife died. This happen about a year and 7 months ago. This caused Rosannah to spiral into a huge depression of which the choices she was making were leading her to end of her own life. A friend at the time handed her a burned CD with no title and told her to listen to it. When she got to track 10 on the album she felt something that changed her life, the awareness and presence of God’s love. Despite her circumstances and situation she experienced something that night that caused her to call up a pastor and accept Jesus Christ. That CD was the album, “A Ghost at Sea” by sosaveme and track 10 was a song called “The Sea.”
Rosannah
What is so profound about this story that Rosannah told us is Austin recently lost a friend due to depression (see previous blog post). This sickness, this disease, this destructive and debilitating force called depression is real. It hits home on so many levels and in so many people’s lives. Not every story ends on a redemptive note like Rosannah’s, sometimes the storys end with continued heart break, but there is something we can do about it. We can share the hope that lies within us. We can look outside of ourselves to see that we can make a difference. A burned CD filled with songs changed someone’s life. We’ve all got talents, abilities, and something to offer the world. It’s not an over-dramatic statement to say that people’s lives hang in the balance. They really do. People like Rosannah, Mike, and (fill in the blank of someone you know) are examples of people who our paths will cross that can inspire us to press on and press forward sharing hope.
As if this wasn’t enough we had some friends who drove 5 hours, 3 hours, and 2 and half hours to come see us. After the show some friends Chelsea and Kelsey continued a tradition they started at Ichthus Festival this year and brought us organic food goodies for the road. It’s astounding that people would drive so far, pay to get into a show, sing their hearts out, and bring us food… Their gifts inspire us to keep giving of ourselves. So thank you to all who have given so much to us! We feel indebted to so many.
The day started off with a broken vehicle and tour ahead of us we didn’t know how we would get to finish and ended on a one of the most encouraging revelations of reasons to keep on doing what we do. There is reward on the other side of opposition.
Off to St. Louis…
