Burning Man 14

I woke up that Friday morning with much sloshing through my mind, including what felt like the steady thump of a bass drum filled with margaritas.

For starters, the festival was only 3 days from being over and I still had no place to go afterwards and no source of income.That was beginning to make me a little nervous to say the least.I also had it in my head that finding a sailboat was another priority... for some reason.As part of my collective experience in Black Rock City, I was thinking about the "main courses" of the week long festival.Burning Man was almost over, but the major events were still to come.Friday's event was centered around the Rocket installation on the Playa, Saturday was the Man burn, and Sunday was going to be the temple burn.

I flipped open the crumpled event book and looked around for the Rocket Ship Launch I knew was going to happed later in the evening.

Join our intrepid crew for our first post retro fit launch.New engines will take us further, faster, and beyonder than ever before.

I chuckled to myself while reading.I remembered Rebecca and Jess joking about the Rocket Ship launch before we even left for the playa.Every time I biked past it I wondered how much of a joke it was.I didn't think the thing would actually take flight, but then again, I never thought I would see or do half the things I had experienced over the past week.Whatever was going to happen, I wanted to see it for my self.9:30 was pretty far away though and there were still matters to take care of in the present, like the ogre grumbling inside my intestines for starters.

I unzipped my tent and stepped out into the open air.Dust swirled in every direction blanketing my field of vision.As the cloud lifted, I noticed Jay and her friend Matt outside relaxing in some camping chairs with bandanas pulled around up over their mouths.

I sat down and sank deep into my camp chair.

"Hey.Morning sunshine.Looking good.Care for a brew?" Matt asked me.

I realized I had not looked in a mirror since the lingerie party.I probably looked pretty rough.

"Ummm.Maybe something non alcoholic."I said still feeling a steady pulse in my cerebral cortex.

"Sure, we got some seltzer water here in my keg."

"Good call."I said as got up to fill my empty water bottle.

"You guys checking out the rocket launch tonight?" Jay asked us.

"Yea.I am. Around 9pm right." I said.

"That sounds about right." Matt said."They bullt that right in Oakland."

"Yea, near the American Steel building.Michelle and I saw them briefly during their load out." I said."I heard it's going to launch." I chuckled.

"No way.Some one is f***ing with man.That's funny though.Who knows what the hell it going to happen." Matt said.

"Speaking of something funny." Jay said getting our attention."I just got back from the bathroom.This girl goes to in the stall.When she closed the door a bunch of random people laid out a long red carpet and stood ready with a gold trophy.She stepped out and about 30 perfect strangers started yelling, yea you won the prize, you won the prize.Congratulations.They clapped and shouted while jumping up and down.The girl turned bright red.It was hilarious."

"Wow.I wish I saw that." I said laughing.

"I know.Amazing." She said.

We chatted for a while under the shade of my canopy affixed to the axle of my automobile.

After an hour or so, I got up out of my chair and prepared myself for another random adventure.I flipped down my goggles and jumped onto my bike into another thick cloud of dust.Stepping on the pedal to get some speed I glided away from Matt and Jay.

The bike frame wobbled and the gear screeched with each pedal.This bike was going to be the death of me I thought as I weaved through traffic on Chaos Street.The sun beat down on me and I tightened my grip on its rubber handlebars refusing to be beat by the 40-dollar beater bike!

There seemed to be a rhythm to the morning (there was even rhythm to the squeaking orchestra wobbling around my wheel spokes).Burners careened along at their own comfortable speed all around me, to their own unique fate of the day.What was mine I wondered?

I pulled onto the Esplanade and soon found myself near tree ring circus at around 8:00 O'clock.(You remember where we had the artist's dinner?)I found several of the people who had served us dinner about a week before, hanging out in the shade under the giant parachute canopy.They were strewn about in several chairs and hammocks pulled tightly together in a circle.A water mister sprayed them as they lounged watching the heavy traffic from the road go by.

"Hey Hassan.How's Fishbug?" a blonde girl (I forgot her name) asked me swaying gently in a rope hammock hung between two posts of the canopy overhead.

"Pretty good.Just stopping to say hey."I said."You guys look comfortable."

"Want a shot?" She offered me getting her self upright.

Part of my stomach gurgled a bit.

"No thanks.I had a rough night last night."I answered.

"Smoothies are ready." a voice called from the bar area at the very back of the camouflaged canopy flapping above our heads.The pulse of a blender could be heard crunching the chunks of ice and fruit.

The loungers and I quickly got up to get an ice-cold smoothie.My mouth was watering… actually now that I think on it… I was pretty dehydrated so a watery mouth might be far fetched.

He filled up my mug and I began to slurp the cold liquid.It tasted so good.Everyone around me seemed to share the same sentiment, made obvious by the lack of talking and high decibeled slurping even audible over the techno music filling the street.

We need to get more people in here to share.Jared said surrounded up to his eyes by overflowing blenders and bags of ice, fresh fruit, and various bottled juice cartons.

No one answered due to the boisterous smoothie slurping.

Tired of being ignored, Jared the smoothie preparer finally got more specific in his demands.

"Hey Tim, grab some people and promote in the street."

"Sure." He answered taking one last and final sip from his Dixie cup.

"I'll help you out.I said finishing the last bit of my drink.

I figured I would tag along to help compensate them for the smoothie.Trades are sort of part of the accepted culture here.

Tim and I stepped out onto a very busy Esplanade with the sun beating down on us aggressively.I already missed the moment prior when I was slurping down a cold smoothie under the canopy.The heat that day was almost unbearable.

Tim began our street marketing campaign.

"Smoothies.Get your smoothies!" he yelled.

People just hustled by us paying us no heed, except for occasional friendly smiles cast from dusty faces.

"Smoothies." Tim yelled again."Get your smoothies."

People kept on walking by as if they were immune to the desert heat.

I looked at Tim and scratched my head."Who wouldn't want a fresh fruit smoothie right now? It's a million and one degrees out here!"

"Hey you with the unicycle and tootoo" I yelled at a passer by.The guy looked around as if someone else fit the description."Yea you." I repeated."Want a smoothie?"

"No I am ok.Thanks though." he said briefly slowing down and then speeding up past us.

We soldiered on in our attempt to gift Tree Ring's mass amounts of cold liquid supply.

"Get your smoothies." I yelled noticing my voice beginning to go horse from the excessive yelling.

People just continued to walk by me, smiling as if they were completely hydrated.

Tim started jumping up and down while yelling in comical frustration.

People just continued to careen the Esplanade, sending little pockets of dust with every step past us from the loose desert earth.Dissolution could be heard in my nest yell.To my surprise, a dreadlocked couple answered.

"Hey, we will take a free smoothie.Right back here?"

"Yea." I answered, pointing to the shamefully small line under the parachute canopy.

I looked at Tim."Man this is not working as fast as I thought it would."

"I know.Hold on a second. You stay here, I am going to get reinforcements."

"Alright." I answered.

"Smoothies." I yelled again as he left. I began to dig into the creative part of my brain for a solution in the interim.

"Smoothie o'clock." I yelled."It's smoothie o'clock."A guy wearing all leather bondage gear on a tricycle pulled his handle bars in to the direction of the tent and made his way to the back of the line.

"Thanks man." He said and his tires squeaked by.

Tim soon came back and brought with him a girl dressed in a banana costume.Amidst the tapestry of yellow fabric covering her, I saw a small face poking out with two bright green eyes and a dusty smile.

"Hey, this is Clara." Tim introduced.

I shook her hand while shaking my head and smiling.

She immediately started jumping around obstructing the street enthusiastically.

"Get your smoothies.Free smoothies.Get your smoothies." She yelled with authority.

Like magic, people started coming in droves.

"Smoothies. Wow.Cool.Where do we line up?"A group of 5 or 6 excessively dusty people said as they made their way under the tent.

"You got this down."Tim commented.

Clara didn't notice the compliment and continued to do whatever you want to call what she was doing.

After about 15 minutes or so post the arrival of our banana marketing guru, James from the behind the smoothie counter came out and informed us that they were running out and we should stop advertising.

"Amazing what a little costume will do at Burning Man." I thought.

I looked at my clothes… my…. civilian clothes… no originality in my T-shirt and jeans.It made me feel a bit like an outsider looking in on the costumed madness.Normal was the new weird in Black Rock City.I noticed that maybe I was… the weird one.Or maybe I was just expressing myself the way I felt comfortable with… regardless of my surrounding company.Yea, we'll just call it that last thing…Suprisingly, I was not really given a hard time about it the entire festival.I think a random drunk lady in an art car said something kind of harsh, but that was about it.I don't even think she was wearing a costume either now that I think on it.I was ok with it regardless. My senses were too overloaded to care.