Connection and a Concert

One of the underlying reasons I decided to take a long walk was a desire to reconnect with the country. Sounds a little hokey when I put it down in print, but that sense of connection was something I thought about frequently during the planning stages of the pilgrimage.

Would the connection exist, or would we just be two other people wandering through the chaotic distractions of modern day life? Would our politics, or job, or race, or family history, or sexual orientation, or homelessness matter? Would we be questioned and tested, or would we make that connection with people naturally a freely as fellow humans travelling a winding and sometimes broken path?

As some of my previous stories have indicated, the real love and acceptance and connection with people we’ve met along the path has been truly beyond my wildest expectations. Everywhere we go, there is someone to offer and encouraging word, a bottle of water, something to eat, a hand of friendship, and the connection that I believe we’d find out here on the road.

Today, as Dad was off consulting a doctor he knows about a bit of a foot problem, I found myself once again in Yorkville, Illinois with some time on my hands. The town and a local watering hole called the Law Office Pub were hosting the Yorkville Summer Solstice Indie Music Festival, so I decided to amble down the road a check it out.

Yorkville Summer Solstice Indie Music Festival Where the Theme was Connection

It was a fantastic experience. Artists representing blues, country, rock, folk, soul, and pop filled the park at the edge of the Fox River with great sound during perfect early summer weather. They hailed from Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Kansas City, South Dakota, Atlanta, Albuquerque, and Kentucky.  The crown was as diverse as the artists cwith the old and the young, wealthy and struggling, races and ethnicities of every description, bikers, and pride activists, and I suspect a few sinners and saints.

I spent four hours down in the park taking in the music, talking to the bands, walking along the river, and watching the sunset. Band after band mounted the stage, and a theme that was consistent through the whole event was connection. There was a raffle to support suicide awareness and prevention, and the MC stood on stage and said that Yorkville is talking about suicide because mental health challenges are something that has to come out of the shadows so we can talk straight to each other and solve the problems.

The front man for the band Szlachetka talked about what he and the band had seen out on the road. “"As we travel around the country, east coast, west coast....doesn't matter, I see a different picture than the division described on the news.  I'm seeing people with a whole lot more in common than their differences."

My experience has been the same. The news from the front is good. I sense a growing movement of connection. People coming together to solve tough problems.  People reaching out a helping hand to complete strangers. People showing real love and respect toward each other with a generous and encouraging spirit.

The connection I sought at the beginning of this trip is the movement toward connection that I see gaining traction everywhere I go, and I, for one, am quite optimistic about where this movement will take us all going forward.