Thursday, May 25, 2000

8:37, on the computer

Well I'm back from Jackson, and I'm getting a lot of questions concerning what happened, so here goes:

I had forgotten to mention that on Wednesday I sanctified my hotel room when I got there, stating that the TV was not going to be turned on and that the room was going to be a place of prayer and worship, which it was for the entire weekend. So on to Thursday, I woke up and ordered some danishes for breakfast, and I looked at the paper because they had an insert for the festival I was working at. I looked at it and then I saw her. Her name's Anastacia, and some of you may remember her as a finalist from MTV's The Cut, or you may have heard her song I'm Outta Love. Well anyway I went nuts over her and just knew I was supposed to meet her. I got down on my knees and prayed to be around Godly people all weekend, and then for the chance to meet Anastacia, promising the Lord that I'd witness to her if I got to meet her. But as I went throughout the day I kept thinking about her, I couldn't get her off of my mind... I mean yeah, she's beautiful but there was something else, it was strange.

Well my first duty Thursday was to help move sound equipment to Congress Street for a speech from the mayor and a concert by the Vamps, a pretty cool acid jazz band. I got the lovely task of guarding an electrical wire for two hours. I whipped out the cell phone (which had unlimited hours and a huuuuuge coverage zone) and called Molly. After talking to her I found myself in the middle of a crowd consisting of about 40 clergy members. I looked up at the sky and said "God... this is NOT what I was talking about..."

After the concert I went back to the office and worked for a few more hours, then went back to the volunteer room and helped with the radios and charging cell phones. I went back to my room and went straght to bed after that.

Friday was really freakin HOT... I almost couldn't stand it. I checked out of my hotel room early in the morning and moved over to the Crowne Plaza. I then went over to the office to do some work and I called Molly while I was there. I told her about my plans to talk with Anastacia and she said a prayer for me, which really meant a lot to me. After I arrived on-site I spent most of the time inside the bank talking with the ladies there. One of them was this really sweet believer (God Bless you, Emma, if you ever read this) that "adopted" me and then slapped some anointing oil on my hand. I decided right then that I liked her. I ran into some friends from Tupelo that used to run a local paper called the Planet Weekly, until they closed the office and moved to Jackson... hey Johnson Bros... you guys rock, and thanks for the Barbecue and the T-Shirt! That day I saw the Gas Giants, Train, and Tonic. The latter two swore too much in their between song speeches. I also ran into Leigh Ann, who is the blonde in that picture of me and the two girls, and is also one of those "could've been but I was lazy" flames. She was working at a shaved ice stand. I took her sister and a friend backstage to see Tonic. After the night ended at about 1 AM I escorted Leigh Ann and her sister off-site, then went around with my uncle and did our security checks, made sure the guards were at their posts, then returned to my hotel room. I went to my hotel room, talked to Kelsey on the phone for about two hours (would've been longer had my phone not discharged) said another prayer (this one for rain to cool the weekend) then I went to bed.

And boy did it rain Saturday... it rained for half the day, and there was a hour and a half delay because of the rain. It started off with an artist named SK8 performing two songs... and she looked almost illegal. She was wearing a tight SHORT blue miniskirt and a top that left little to the imagination. She couldn't have looked more than 14, but it turns out she's 21. But anyway Saturday was the day that Anastacia was to perform, and I told the security guards at the gates and backstage areas to inform me THE MOMENT Anastacia arrived on-site. When she did I was already at the gate, and I introduced myself to the manager and said "I'm the Assistant Director of Security here, and there's an hour and a half delay due to the rain. I'm offering my services as personal assistant as gratuity to you, if you or Anastacia need anything, if you guys need food, drink, or extra securuty, I'm your man." He looked at me, smiled, shook my hand and said "Thanks, I had some important things I needed to do and I can do them now." I followed him to the VIP area, where she was talking and he said "Anastacia, this is John, he's going to be your assistant (I swear he said slave though) for the next few hours while I attend to business..."

My face was professional (I hope), but my insides were doing the tango and my brain was singing Mozart's "Ode to Joy" sixty times a second. Here I was, lil old me... assigned to guard a recording artist that has a number one single in Europe and Australia... every cell of my body praised the Lord. She came up to me, said "gee, looks like you're guarding me for a while... you've got a REAL hard job huh, cutie?" grabbed me by the arm and said "c'mon, lets go mingle!", and we went to the VIP area to meet the winners of some local radio station's contest to meet Anastacia. After that we talked for about thirty minutes as she signed autographs and we really got along famously. Her manager asked me for a few things, and I told Anastacia that I had to go do a few things, and she said "okay but don't stay gone too long or I'll miss you." I knew she was kidding but I worked twice as fast anyway. When I got back she took off my cap and ruffled my hair, grabbed me by the arm and said "c'mon boyfriend, we've got to go to my dressing room."

I started stuttering and I think I said something like "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, you're my new boyfriend, let's go!"

So we walked off stage, arm in arm with her head on my shoulder... everyone looked at me in shock, cause no one thought I could pull off meeting her... and to be honest, I didn't, God did. So anyway we were walking towards the trailer, and I said "Do I need to wait outside your dressing room?" and she replied "nah, it's okay honey you can keep me company!" She did something really amazing, she signed autographs for nearly an hour, she had a huuuuuuge list of names that she got while we were backstage. She asked me "sweetie, do you want an autograph?" Again I stuttered something like "um, yeah sure" and I got a picture of her that said "To John, Thanks for Keeping me safe... Love, Anastacia". I'm framing that bugger...

So after that her band left, and it was just the two of us. I'm surpised, I didn't have a single lustful thought of her during the entire time we were together, which from meeting to departure amounted to three hours. We listened to M2M perform, and she talked about her love for live music, and got really passionate about it. We started talking about each other, and ended up talking about her mostly (my idea, I was looking for an opportunity to witness) and we chatted about how she got started, and how she finished second on The Cut and got a record deal after that, and how she's excited and blown away about how she's number one in Europe and Australia. Right then I remembered my promise to God, and I looked her right in her (gorgeous brown) eyes and pointed to the sky and said "well, just remember who got you where you are today, and you'll never go wrong." And she looked at me like I had just said an extremely romantic comment. I blushed and she laughed, then we talked more casual stuff. I didn't tell her I'm a preacher, I didn't talk about God anymore, but she did made a few comments about Him and I responded accordingly. She showed some promise though, expressing a knowledge of God and a hidden love for Him, but I don't think anyone had ever told her about Jesus. Above all we had a good conversation until she had to go on stage. Thinking about it now, it makes me a little sad, because while I did God's work, I failed in the task that I had planned... I pray God sends someone else. So anyway I had to guard her dressing room when she went on, and she expressed her sorrow that I couldn't see her perform and asked "Well John, you wouldn't have much of a problem watching a bunch of our tushies shaking on stage, would you?" I didn't reply to that because I was too embarassed and blushing, and she laughed and left to perform.

Frankly, the girl has an amazing voice. If you heard her song on the radio, you'd think she was a 30-40 year old black diva, like Tina Turner or Aretha Franklin, but she's a skinny 27-yr old blonde. I was blown away the whole time, and I wished I could've been at the front of the stage when she performed. But I just listened and watched her jumping around on the stage (I stared at the back of her head the entire time, I swear). She sang two songs that I really loved... one is called "Who's Gonna Stop the Rain" (which is ironic cause it rained before and after she performed) and then "All of Me", which is simply one of the most beautful songs I've ever heard, and I want it sung at my wedding. After she got off, I was the first to greet her and she signed some autographs while I kept an eye on her. I even introduced her to my grandmother (which made her cry) and Anastacia hugged her and said "your grandson is soooo sweet, you should be proud!" Aaaaand again I blushed and she laughed. Well she had to make a 6:00 flight, and she only had an hour to get to the airport, so we rushed to her waiting van (she was so sweet too, she signed some more autographs and was almost late). I said "so I guess this is where we part ways, huh?" and she gave me the biggest hug I've ever gotten in my life and said "I really appreciate your help John, you're a sweetheart, see you later." and I said "Make it a promise and you have a deal..." she promised, and I said "if you come to Tupelo, look me up, okay?" And she said "okay, bye sweetie!" and her driver drove off as she waved bye. Well I felt like I was ten feet tall... one of the security guards told me that I had an ear to ear grin and that I almost glowed. I blushed, told him to shush, and fell on the ground. I called Kelsey when I regained my cool to tell her about my meeting and after I got off the phone, wouldn't you know it started raining again...

The rest of Saturday went by a little rough. Issac Hayes waited for an hour before taking the stage... He rocked the house though, and then Joan Jett and the Blackhearts took forever to get on. And lemme tell you, her band acted like jerks... I doubt they're coming back anytime soon. I saw Joan Jett (who's shaved her head now) walking around backstage, and I was standing on the stage access stairs when she passed by to take the stage, and the hairs on my neck stood up. I turned to the guard and said "Taylor, this morning I met an angel... just now I saw the devil... I think I might die soon." We both laughed and talked while they performed. Halfway through her performance I got a call on the radio to watch out for drunks, so I went out and did crowd control for a few hours, then brought Leigh Ann's sister and about four other people backstage to see Cowboy Mouth perform. As always they stole the show. I took my party backstage to meet Fred (the drummer) and we talked for a while and I did my usual security checks with my uncle then headed to bed, and said a loooooong prayer of thanks for the opportunity God gave me that day... but to be honest, I felt a little upset that I didn't get to give Stacy the "big Jesus speech".

Sunday I ended up in an elevator full of Black Pentecostal women... again I shot an amused look at God. One of them told me that I have a strong presence and she could tell I would do great things. When I got on-site I was still a little upset about my lack of witnessing to Anastacia. I talked to Emma about it and she said "well it's okay, child... you're blessed anyway", afterwards I talked to my grandmother and she said "well you did plant a seed, maybe that was what God intended you to do..." and I felt a lot better then... she's right though, and I'm praying every night now that someone see's that seed and waters it, I want to see her come to Christ so much. If anyone reading this would like to pray for her, please do, it'd mean a lot to me and I'm sure her as well.

Back to Sunday, it was still raining and all that performed for the first few hours were rappers, so I made myself busy by doing other things. I went to St Andrew's and checked out a choir, then talked to Leigh Ann for a while and talked to Emma for a bit. At four I headed backstage to help with security for the Temptations, and I met their bodyguard, Dragon. Here is a 300-lb black man that's nice as can be, and he's a martial arts master of 34 years. I wasn't nervous around him at all, but he was so friendly, he and I talked for a bit and he gave me a big bear hug and told me he enjoyed my company. He suddenly jumped up and shouted "quiet! They're praying!" and ran over to the Temptations and prayed with them. I walked over and stood near them and bowed my head as well.

As soon as the Temptations hit the stage, the clouds parted and the sun started shining. A newspaper headline the next day read "Temptations Sunshine on Cloudy Day at Jam". And man it was true... these guys are blessed. They even had a little 11 year old girl come on stage and they sang "My Girl" to her, then had a boy the same age come up and dance and sing the song to the girl. Afterwards I took a boy to meet them, and they were so sweet. Everyone wanted the Temptations' autograph, but I wanted Dragon's... despite the name, he was one of the nicest guys I'll ever meet.

The Temptations left, and things slowed down after that. I was about ready for the festival to end, because I was blistered from wearing wet socks Saturday and everyone working was tired. Other bands performed, but I was busy with my uncle invesigating reports that one of the security guards was giving away beer... well actually I just sat in the golf cart wolfing down a turkey leg (Thanks again, Elton) while my uncle relieved the guard from duty... after that it was around 9, and the SOS band for some reason wouldn't go on stage due to some sound equipment damage... they were to go on at 9, and they went on at 10:30. I was back at my usual post backstage on the main stage overseeing security (actually I was just chatting with Jackson police). I noticed one of the officers kept falling asleep... that is until the SOS band was about to take stage. The female lead singer walked up to him and gave him a WHOPPER of a kiss. Everyone laughed and I went up to him and said "Are you awake now?" He laughed and said "That's enough, I'm taking the rest of the night off..."

The SOS Band were great.... they funked the place up, flat out, plain and simple. And they glorified God on stage too, it was great. I got a call on my cell phone from LA though, she was ready to go and kept getting harassed, so I escorted her off-site.

The festival ended, and the real fun started... thankfully my Uncle did beer inventory before I had gotten back, so all we had to do was drive around and check on things. I went back to the hotel early and my key card wouldn't work... so I ended up having to get two replacements and a security guard to unlock my door before finally getting in... I got to bed at about 2 that night. I slept late Monday, woke up and helped clean out the bank, then boxed the radios, collected cell phones, called Fred's in Tupelo (I got a job there while I was gone) helped in the office for a bit, then headed to my uncle's apartment. We went to a friend of his' house, ordered Chinese, then kicked back and watched End of Days... it wasn't my choice, and I turned my head at all the nudity... I'd still have rather not watched it though, despite the fact I thought the movie was pretty good.

Anyway the next night my aunt and I drove back home, I got back late Tuesday night and went to Brother Mac's (my mentor) Bible Study.

Wednesday I started at Fred's... and really missed my job at Spencer's, despite the demonic stuff they solf... it was rough though, we unloaded a gigantic truck that was filled with boxes for three hours, we were all exhausted after that. I got an hour break for lunch, which I used for a shower, then went back to work. I stocked boxes for the rest of the day, then my ass't manager dropped me off because he wanted to see my autographed pic of Anastacia (whom I'm still thinking about). When I got home and discovered a new pet... a turtle that belongs to my sister, and his name is Soup. For a turtle, he's pretty speedy too...

Later that night I went to church and we had a small party afterwards for my Dad's birthday (He's 42 now... I feel old), and I went home. I got online and an old friend of mine was on (whose name will remain confidential due to the nature of the conversation) and she told me her recent events, and how she's wearing a cross now... naturally I went into preacher mode and proceeded to tell her the real reason for the cross and I asked her why she wore it. She said a bunch of (seemingly) trivial answers and my reply was "well would you use a knife as a q-tip?" Then she told me the truth, that she had been wearing it due to some disturbing dreams... and then a miracle happened. Just as Daniel did... God used me to interpret the dream. It blew me away... it's only been done twice in the Bible, and both times were done by Daniel. Point is, this is a rare occurence... and God used little insignificant me to do it... I was blown away and ran to tell my mother, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. Well I regained my composure and witness to her, and planted a seed in her. I'm praying she'll come around someday, I've been praying for her for a long time.

I slept late this morning, can't even remember what I did until Transformers came on, then talked to my mother for a bit, cooked dinner, and got online. So here I am... it's Thursday night and business is back to normal. I have to work tomorrow at 10 though, so I might leave soon. Anywho, G'night all and as usual, God Bless!