Saturday! The Man Burn! Nothing like a morning full of waffles and crispy black bacon (ewww!).... Made our way back over to the HeeBeeGeeBee camp, drank lots of tea and talked to Ah-Ha Rabbit (who is the most beautiful man on earth, to me at least.... I just want to stare into his big green eyes, pet his curly-matted hair and listen to him tell me about his Jesus-sandals forever...) Got in line for the steambath.... chanted, hummed, steamed.... naked naked. The walk back to camp was dusty, the city was dusty, our naked bodies got dusty.... "There might be a dust storm later this evening..." says a man with a big brimmed hat.... well was there ever.... whew! Dust storm hits! White-out! High winds! Stuck in the camper! Matt needs a ride back to NYC? Need to get to Playa-Info to check on rideshares..... "Brave
the storm!" Matt and I wander into the white-out, bandanas around our faces, safety goggles barely blocking out the sand to find him a rideshare..... No luck, but we did locate a camp full of New Yorkers through the computer systems - figured we would check out the camp, see if anyone was leaving for home in their car.... Between here and there, someone hands us some mushrooms, just enough for one person really, Matt and I split them.... Why the hell not.
As the mushrooms kick-in, we arrive at the NYC camp.... only to find out that the NYC camp is
creepy clown camp....ugh! Last year, zombies; this year, clowns.... fucking creepy. We never found Matt a ride back home - but we tried.... He seemed aboslutely 100% fine with riding back with creepy clowns.. I am not sure how I feel about that..... Again, somewhere between here and there, we created our own universe, with stars and everything.... and we walked around in the dust until it was nearly dark out. Returning to camp, Tracy and Brandon were hanging with our awesome neighbors - Tracy and Brandon got all dolled up for the Man, Matt and I felt like dust, so we stayed dusty - decked ourselves out in some glow-stick bling-bling... and went to go watch The Burn. (this is the longest blog ever.... I am really sorry... I am trying to tell you about things, and trying not to add pointless details... but it is difficult to smush a week into a little blog....)
The Burn. So it started off with six of us.... Tracy, Matt, Brandon, our two neighbors, and myself. We strutted and strolled, blingin with our glow, up to the chaos which surrounds the Man hours before the Burn..... It is a giant Mass. I cannot correctly describe
it. You can see
it, you approach
it, and
it engulfs you.... Art Cars, fire twirlers, belly dancers, more lights than you would ever see in Vegas, music blowin out your ears, thousands of people, drinking, druggin, outrageously costumed, naked, painted, glowing beasts, making out, passed out, hanging off poles, screaming, howlin - Last year I had a very bad
Burn experience, I immeadiately felt sick.... turned to Matt, "Want to run out to that 12 story structure? That art installation? Think it is about a mile and half away, not sure if we can make it...." He thought it was the best idea ever....Then all this confusion starts. I want Tracy and Brandon to have their first experience next to the Man... as their first year at Burning Man, it is important, tradition to be there in the center of it all.... it is like a pagan-Time-Square moment. Matt starts pulling Tracy, Brandon is all upset because he has no idea where we are going, "Structure? What structure? Where are we going? What do you mean we might
not make it in time?" I just want to go.... everything is spinning... I want out... I want out... I want out.... So I take off.... I feel horrible about leaving Tracy, but feel it is better for them... if they missed the Man Burn completely, I would hate my life more than leaving her... Matt catches up. We realize about 10 minutes into the jog, that all the art installation lights have been turned off in respect the The Man.... talk about confusion. No idea which direction we are facing. Start to rely on my own sense of direction, which is incredibly well honed thanks to all my traveling experience - we find the structure, very far, off in the distance, dark, ominous, quiet, looming, we worry that it has been closed completely - it is so dark. Climb all the steps, there are a few kids having a picnic, climb a few more stairs, there are 15 people on the roof, huddled around, seperate, together - you see the city, you see the lights, the man catches on fire, I lay my head on Matt's lap and hope for the best......
Sunday, we packed up. Sad to leave before the Temple Burn.... The Temple this year was the most beautiful, intricate thing you have ever laid eyes on.... made completely of garbage... completed by Burners who were dedicated - Photos of lost parents, sisters, brothers, pets decoracted the insides. Friends who miss eachother, lovers who fell apart, dreams that never happened, homes that were destroyed.... a Temple full of things lost, loved, gone, forgotten - A temple so beautiful, a story so heartretching - all gone in an instant.... all reduced to ashes.... all recycled to the air... Next year. I am not leaving for Temple Burn. Next year. I will sit next to it, hold hands, and just feel the heat...... Next year....... yup yup
Saturday! The Man Burn! Nothing like a morning full of waffles and crispy black bacon (ewww!).... Made our way back over to the HeeBeeGeeBee camp, drank lots of tea and talked to Ah-Ha Rabbit (who is the most beautiful man on earth, to me at least.... I just want to stare into his big green eyes, pet his curly-matted hair and listen to him tell me about his Jesus-sandals forever...) Got in line for the steambath.... chanted, hummed, steamed.... naked naked. The walk back to camp was dusty, the city was dusty, our naked bodies got dusty.... "There might be a dust storm later this evening..." says a man with a big brimmed hat.... well was there ever.... whew! Dust storm hits! White-out! High winds! Stuck in the camper! Matt needs a ride back to NYC? Need to get to Playa-Info to check on rideshares..... "Brave 
the storm!" Matt and I wander into the white-out, bandanas around our faces, safety goggles barely blocking out the sand to find him a rideshare..... No luck, but we did locate a camp full of New Yorkers through the computer systems - figured we would check out the camp, see if anyone was leaving for home in their car.... Between here and there, someone hands us some mushrooms, just enough for one person really, Matt and I split them.... Why the hell not. 
As the mushrooms kick-in, we arrive at the NYC camp.... only to find out that the NYC camp is creepy clown camp....ugh! Last year, zombies; this year, clowns.... fucking creepy. We never found Matt a ride back home - but we tried.... He seemed aboslutely 100% fine with riding back with creepy clowns.. I am not sure how I feel about that..... Again, somewhere between here and there, we created our own universe, with stars and everything.... and we walked around in the dust until it was nearly dark out. Returning to camp, Tracy and Brandon were hanging with our awesome neighbors - Tracy and Brandon got all dolled up for the Man, Matt and I felt like dust, so we stayed dusty - decked ourselves out in some glow-stick bling-bling... and went to go watch The Burn. (this is the longest blog ever.... I am really sorry... I am trying to tell you about things, and trying not to add pointless details... but it is difficult to smush a week into a little blog....)
The Burn. So it started off with six of us.... Tracy, Matt, Brandon, our two neighbors, and myself. We strutted and strolled, blingin with our glow, up to the chaos which surrounds the Man hours before the Burn..... It is a giant Mass. I cannot correctly describe it. You can see it, you approach it, and it engulfs you.... Art Cars, fire twirlers, belly dancers, more lights than you would ever see in Vegas, music blowin out your ears, thousands of people, drinking, druggin, outrageously costumed, naked, painted, glowing beasts, making out, passed out, hanging off poles, screaming, howlin - Last year I had a very bad 
Burn experience, I immeadiately felt sick.... turned to Matt, "Want to run out to that 12 story structure? That art installation? Think it is about a mile and half away, not sure if we can make it...." He thought it was the best idea ever....Then all this confusion starts. I want Tracy and Brandon to have their first experience next to the Man... as their first year at Burning Man, it is important, tradition to be there in the center of it all.... it is like a pagan-Time-Square moment. Matt starts pulling Tracy, Brandon is all upset because he has no idea where we are going, "Structure? What structure? Where are we going? What do you mean we might 
not make it in time?" I just want to go.... everything is spinning... I want out... I want out... I want out.... So I take off.... I feel horrible about leaving Tracy, but feel it is better for them... if they missed the Man Burn completely, I would hate my life more than leaving her... Matt catches up. We realize about 10 minutes into the jog, that all the art installation lights have been turned off in respect the The Man.... talk about confusion. No idea which direction we are facing. Start to rely on my own sense of direction, which is incredibly well honed thanks to all my traveling experience - we find the structure, very far, off in the distance, dark, ominous, quiet, looming, we worry that it has been closed completely - it is so dark. Climb all the steps, there are a few kids having a picnic, climb a few more stairs, there are 15 people on the roof, huddled around, seperate, together - you see the city, you see the lights, the man catches on fire, I lay my head on Matt's lap and hope for the best......
Sunday, we packed up. Sad to leave before the Temple Burn.... The Temple this year was the most beautiful, intricate thing you have ever laid eyes on.... made completely of garbage... completed by Burners who were dedicated - Photos of lost parents, sisters, brothers, pets decoracted the insides. Friends who miss eachother, lovers who fell apart, dreams that never happened, homes that were destroyed.... a Temple full of things lost, loved, gone, forgotten - A temple so beautiful, a story so heartretching - all gone in an instant.... all reduced to ashes.... all recycled to the air... Next year. I am not leaving for Temple Burn. Next year. I will sit next to it, hold hands, and just feel the heat...... Next year....... yup yup
2 comments:
London,
no need to apologize for writing too much, it is certainly the minimum fraction of BM 2008 to tell, as there were many questions about it.
It is so full of joy, vibes and light and people and bandanas that it makes a wonderfull mix and picture.
This is a so breath taking blogg it's hard to tell!
It surely was a lot of job to put it all into it, in order and pictures, You are sharing so much in Your so lovely way, wish I could just send You some flowers!
You might imagine a picture instead:
big bunch of colourful red, yellow and white flowers with lots of green long grass and long darker green leafes in and around them, coloured paper around the bottom, standing on Your table....
Thx all over again and again !
Amazing, the word that I can think of. Helluva way to end the summer. I can only imagine what it all looked like from 12 stories. Good times with good people. Always memorable. Love the shot of you in red wig & purple muclucks. Great week.:)
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