Porc Fest 2004

Friday the 25th continued

I had to hustle to make the NHLA dinner on time.  I heard beforehand that there would be people protesting, but I wasn't thinking about that when I arrived.  As I was driving towards the parking lot I saw police and a crowd and wondered what that was all about.  Then I realized, it's the Democrats!  And they're on the outside!  What a deal!

I made my way inside without any trouble from the crowd.  I heard some funny stories about them that I'll leave for someone else to say.  I thought James Maynard put it best.  There we were, with the Governor, eating an outstanding buffet, with the cameras rolling, raising money for good causes, and there they were on the outside eating a sack lunch looking stupid.  We've arrived ;)

The dinner went well.  The speeches were excellent and the tone was extremely encouraging.  My hat's off to Keith Murphy, James Maynard, Michelle Otterson, Rich Tomasso, Don Gorman, Michelle Dumas, Karen Pratt, and everyone else who pulled off the event.  One highlight for me was hearing Michael Harrington give his acceptance speech for the Legislator of the Year award.  He spoke about how the diving industry has successfully self-regulated without government intervention and how that should be a model for other industries.  Favorite quote (compairing SCUBA diving to government regulated industries):  "nobody ever died from a bad hair cut."  ;)

I was wiped out Friday evening so I decided not to set an alarm for Saturday.

Saturday the 26th

I woke up late in the morning on Saturday feeling a little bit rested and got over to the hall as quickly as I could.  Unfortunately, I had already missed the homeschooling presentation.  Saturday's schedule was packed full of speakers and events.  I got in on much of it but there were also several media interviews to do, most notably with Tina Susman from Newsday, who has been trying to track me down for months now.  It was great to meet her and get a chance to speak with her about the project.  Hope it comes out favorably ;)

The presentations ranged from Gun Owners of New Hampshire, to Joe Hemp, to the Taxpayers Coalition (I'm forgetting the lengthy full name of the group now), and much more.  Steve Cobb, one of the FSP Organizers, sat next to me for part of the event and commented that he had never seen anyone open carrying before.  Doubly interesting was seeing the guy with his .45 holstered standing next to the guy wearing the black and bright-green hemp shirt.  I think he got a picture...

I had lunch on Saturday with Bryan and Lianne Stevenson.  Bryan is the guy who we had lined up to do the music on Sunday morning.  We enjoyed our lunch together and hustled back for more of the scheduled events.  Saturday evening, we had a big group dinner in the hall.  I ate near the beginning and then made space for others to sit.  I decided to just walk the line a bit and introduce myself to anyone and everyone in line.  It was great to see so many faces from so many places all with a common interest in creating liberty in New Hampshire.

The dance took over in the evening and I hung out inside briefly for the beginning of that.  Since I can't dance to save my life, I worked my way up to the campfire eventually and we enjoyed an evening around "the circle of liberty", so dubbed by Tim Condon.  He started by having Jason share a few words, but it soon turned into an excuse to have *everyone* around the campfire (and some at nearby tables) go to the middle to say something.  It was highly entertaining to say the least.  I don't recall what I said, but I don't think it was all that impressive.  Some shared more 'personal' thoughts.  Some told jokes.  Some inspired.  Some reflected.  But everyone added something of their own that was, to me, worth hearing.  After a couple of beers and a few hours around the campfire, I called it an evening.

Sunday the 27th

Sunday was unique.  I'm not sure there's ever been a libertarian Christian church service before.  There certainly has never been one like this.

Months ago, the core group of Christians in the FSP came up with the idea of having church at the Porc Fest.  I'm not sure who mentioned it first, but I decided to take the bull by the horns and be the point man.  I reserved the hall for the event and let everyone know we'd need a pastor and a music leader.  Patrick Houlmiere arranged to have Pastor Garrett Lear come to the festival and deliver the message.  Thanks a million to Patrick for covering the expenses for Pastor Lear!  Bryan Stevenson agreed to do the music 'on the house' and he did an outstanding job.  Thanks a million to Bryan for coming through with the music and for making *exactly* the right number of lyrics sheets!   Now that we know you're so talented, you should print a thousand next time ;)  And, of course, a huge thanks to Pastor Lear for coming out to speak to us.

We set up the room, not knowing how many people would show up.  I figured we'd have at least a dozen, but wasn't certain it'd be much more.  Some people who said they were coming wound up missing it (sorry Dave for not shakin your tent... next time!).  Nevertheless, we had 40 people there, a truly impressive turnout.  As an aside, after we announced we had organized our meeting, two additional meetings were organized at the same time in different places.  The atheist meeting had 36 people in attendance and the none-of-the-above / seekers / pagans / etc. meeting had 11.  I believe there were as many as 300 people there over the course of the weekend, though many didn't stay through Sunday.  Nevertheless, I think 40 was quite the respectable turnout and it exceeded my expectations.

We began with prayer and a couple of announcements.  Then Bryan got up to lead us in worship.  Trading my sorrows was great, but I think everyone would agree, that may have been the best rendition of How Great Thou Art ever.  I know my dad will disagree.  He was at the Billy Graham crusade in New York in 1957 when that song was introduced to America by Bev Shay who sang it 108 times over the course of 3 months.  But to hear libertarians, who really know what it means to love freedom, freely belting out all four verses of How Great Thou Art, knowing there were groups of atheists right outside the door was beyond description.  One person (not in attendance) told me afterwards he'd be singing it the whole way home.  He's not a Christian ;)

After the music, Bryan Rusch made a quick announcement and then Pastor Lear got up to speak.  I'll admit right here in public that I was just a hint skeptical.  I knew Patrick and Edwina would do us right, but even I am skeptical of Christians who think they understand freedom.  Pastor Lear not only gets it, he's a great speaker, too.  He brought us an encouraging message that was taylor made for our group.  The message was recorded, so if anyone wants to hear it, you can get a copy (*cheap*, too) from Pastor Lear through his website at http://www.thewelloflivingwater.com/

After the service, we snapped a few photos and hit the road.  We loaded up the DJ's stuff and headed for Boston.  I took my roommate, Mike, back to the Boston airport, and then Ian and Candace back to their place in Boston.  From there I headed to Keene for two more days of New Hampshire experience, primarily working on our house project.

In the end...

A good time was had by all.  So much more happened than I could possibly chronical on these pages.  It was everything it was supposed to be and so much more.

In closing, I have a little housekeeping to do.  I think I've missed some names in some of these pictures.  If you tell me who you are, I'll fix it. 

Also, a HUGE thanks goes out to Tim, George, and Dave for making Porc Fest 2004 a reality.  Those guys worked their tushies off making sure everything was just right, and *it was*!  Great job!

And thanks to all the other people in FSP leadership who made both Porc Fest a reality, and who work tirelessly to make the project succeed.  Thanks Amanda, Alan, Jean, Karen, Eddie, Kat, George, Jason, Dave, Adam, Tom, and the list goes on and on and on and on......