Now the 198, between King City and Coalinga, is a bizarre two lane highway that snakes through different valleys and summits that are actually quite beautiful in the summer as well as in the spring. This time though it was green and beautiful instead of all sere and browned. And it was curvy enough to allow for my heightened, somewhat, sense of awakeness.
I got to his pad around eightish and knocked on the door to their home. He gave me the key to the trailer and I went to go to sleep. As I stood there trying to get the key to work after about ten minutes I realized it must be the wrong key or I was doing something wrong. I took the key he gave me back to him and got another which worked and I was in and out in the time it took me to strip down to the spandex and snuggle into the sleeping bag.
About 6 hours later I woke up and started to get dressed slowly but surely. And no I’m not calling any of you Shirley. I had on my pants and was putting on my shirt when my buddy came around the corner of the doorway. I had asked him to be sure to wake me up by 2p.m. as I had to go get my daughter from the sisters’ house. So there he was, ready to wake me, with a semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle. It was nice to have a big smile on ones face when waking up after a night of rave dancing. So I guess it was more of a smile continuation. I smoked a bit of the frop with him, after a delicious cheeseburger he made me, and was once again on the road. I cracked the other monster and drank it down, and then I took the small one landed road out of the valley and down the range of mountains to the 101 and off to my sisters’ house.
Now they weren’t at the house. They had gone to someone else’s house, a scouting individual I think, that was out in the booneys and I had to find them by constant contact to my wifey who had the directions. Which after driving around the town of Templeton and the outskirts of same said town, I called my bro-in-law. He had no idea where I was but he said that my sis had driven my daughter to their house so I went there and got her. Now for anyone that has ever tried to remain awake for any length of time, it’s hard as hell to actually be able to hold a conversation. But I did try and hopefully I made a small amount of sense. But then again, maybe not. So with girl child in tow, we went together down the road to home, to hearth, and to life after the Burnal Equinox.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 6
After dancing for a few hours I checked my watch and realized that it was three thirty in the morning. The music in the area I was in, downstairs inside, had stopped and I was standing there trying not to reel and I figured that it was time to go. I had wanted to get the entire experience and had forced myself to stay long after I thought I would go. But since I had hopped myself up on ginseng and monster drinks, I was okay to drive. So I left the pseudo Playa and started my journey back to the land of the straights.
As I had toured most of the streets of San Francisco I was quick and dandy fast on my way out of there and onto the freeway. Of course it was the wrong one, until I realized that the freeway I was on would take me to the 101 that would then take me home. So the next thing was trying to find a 24 hour food joint that was open. As Denny’s was the only place I could think of I spent the next hour or so trying to find one directly off of the freeway, which is no small feat I might add. I passed by an exit somewhere in Santa Clara I think and there was the wondrous yellow sign that shows the way to 24 hour eating. Of course I didn’t notice it till I passed it, so I went to the next exit, flipped the rurudo around, and headed back. I went in, was seated by a cute little Mexican girl with a great smile, and had her not even bother to give me the menu. I knew exactly what I wanted. A side salad with blue cheese dressing, a super bird with fries, and a coffee so I wouldn’t nod out. It arrived quickly and was gone almost as quick. I inhaled my food and a few cups of Joe, and gassed up the tank before I went back to the road. I had to make it as far as my buddies joint to sleep, but as his pad was off of the road about 23 miles down a curvy road of death, I had to be especially careful. And I was fine, until about 7:30 in the A.M. and then I started to nod out. I stopped by the 198 exit, the road to sleepy time, and called the wifey to let her know I was going to be hibernating for a few hours in about 45 minutes, told her I loved her, and was back down the highway.
As I had toured most of the streets of San Francisco I was quick and dandy fast on my way out of there and onto the freeway. Of course it was the wrong one, until I realized that the freeway I was on would take me to the 101 that would then take me home. So the next thing was trying to find a 24 hour food joint that was open. As Denny’s was the only place I could think of I spent the next hour or so trying to find one directly off of the freeway, which is no small feat I might add. I passed by an exit somewhere in Santa Clara I think and there was the wondrous yellow sign that shows the way to 24 hour eating. Of course I didn’t notice it till I passed it, so I went to the next exit, flipped the rurudo around, and headed back. I went in, was seated by a cute little Mexican girl with a great smile, and had her not even bother to give me the menu. I knew exactly what I wanted. A side salad with blue cheese dressing, a super bird with fries, and a coffee so I wouldn’t nod out. It arrived quickly and was gone almost as quick. I inhaled my food and a few cups of Joe, and gassed up the tank before I went back to the road. I had to make it as far as my buddies joint to sleep, but as his pad was off of the road about 23 miles down a curvy road of death, I had to be especially careful. And I was fine, until about 7:30 in the A.M. and then I started to nod out. I stopped by the 198 exit, the road to sleepy time, and called the wifey to let her know I was going to be hibernating for a few hours in about 45 minutes, told her I loved her, and was back down the highway.
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 5
Now mixed into the 140 beats a minute crazy techno electronica there were live bands as well. One was a pretty good bluesy kind of vibe with top hats and Playa wear. There was a gypsy band as well, after the mash up guy, who sang a song called, of all things, “Gypsy”. But it was all about the rave aspect of the night. Many many many DJ’s all great, some more intense then others, but all great. They were mixing, out on the jiggly pier thingy, on a suspended table. It was on rope, looked like climbing rope of all things, and the different equipment was used on the table. The reason being I think they were allowing for swing and dance dance dance.
Now in the middle of all this crazyness, the wifeykins called. Our daughter was at my sisters house and the wifey and the boy child were at home hanging out. Now as I’m standing amongst the last great nomad peoples of North America she begins to say that she would love to sell everything and be nomads. Home school our children on the road and travel the land. Now this really blew my mind as my wifey is a sweet woman whom I love absolutely, but a nomad she ain’t. So I chatted a bit with her, while I was trying to find a quiet spot which was no mean feat I must say, and we signed off from each other with a resounding “I love you”. And I continued to swim through the masses.
Now to some of you, as to me before this experience, I was thinking that the freak out factor would outweigh any and all possible feelings of humanity or community. But I was wrong. Every person I met, including the guys with the fake colored contacts and the hats and the Playa gear, were some of the nicest people around. The overwhelming feeling of humanity and sharing and group goodness was so strong it was hard not to have a perma grin on my face through most of the night. Well, the crazy interplanetary frop these people had helped as well. I was kind of paranoid entering so I didn’t take in my pipe or any joints or anything, and that was a waste of a freak out. I was asked at the entrance whether I had a bag or not, and as I didn’t I walked on through. With all the colors and all the finery, it was a sensational party and gave me my first real vibe of the Playa. And truthfully, it was as if I had come home and my people were there to meet me.
Now in the middle of all this crazyness, the wifeykins called. Our daughter was at my sisters house and the wifey and the boy child were at home hanging out. Now as I’m standing amongst the last great nomad peoples of North America she begins to say that she would love to sell everything and be nomads. Home school our children on the road and travel the land. Now this really blew my mind as my wifey is a sweet woman whom I love absolutely, but a nomad she ain’t. So I chatted a bit with her, while I was trying to find a quiet spot which was no mean feat I must say, and we signed off from each other with a resounding “I love you”. And I continued to swim through the masses.
Now to some of you, as to me before this experience, I was thinking that the freak out factor would outweigh any and all possible feelings of humanity or community. But I was wrong. Every person I met, including the guys with the fake colored contacts and the hats and the Playa gear, were some of the nicest people around. The overwhelming feeling of humanity and sharing and group goodness was so strong it was hard not to have a perma grin on my face through most of the night. Well, the crazy interplanetary frop these people had helped as well. I was kind of paranoid entering so I didn’t take in my pipe or any joints or anything, and that was a waste of a freak out. I was asked at the entrance whether I had a bag or not, and as I didn’t I walked on through. With all the colors and all the finery, it was a sensational party and gave me my first real vibe of the Playa. And truthfully, it was as if I had come home and my people were there to meet me.
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 4
There were four areas, one of which was a private party for a bit, and off limits to us plebian classes, and in each of the areas was a different musical freak out. Being myself, the guy in my clothes that is, I “surfed” the area constantly, with small breaks for dancing and spinning and grooving. One area was, as I said, upstairs. There was one downstairs directly under the one upstairs, one outside by the entrance to the place, and one at the other end on a pier of sorts. The pier one was the most thrilling as every time I was over there dancing I would stop for a moment and feel the entire pier vibrate and jump due to the huge gaggle of people jumping in tandem to the crazy beats spun by the DJ. Upstairs was a guy, he called what he did the mix and match up “as you wait right on the spot for YOU!” He had two wheels one inside the other and would have people, brought up to the wheels by the “mashettes”, who would spin the wheels and then whatever the wheels landed on would be the music he played. One was the music and one would be the vocals. One mash up was sly and the family stone with the music from Breeders cannonball. One was Michael Jackson and beastie boys I think. It was bizarre but tasty at times, though he did kind of peter out at the changes in the music, from one to another that is. He had a ginormous lit up screen with what looked like a windows operating system on it and he would cycle through the different bits and tasty nuggets of music and mash them together. I actually went up to him and said “how bout Dead Kennedy’s and Anne Murray or a hard core religious right onward Christian soldiers?” he said he tried the DK thing, and for a thematic angle it was tasty.
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 3
The first thing I noticed were all the top hats. It seems that the Playa needs aeration in the head so the height of the hat seems to be a factor. At least for some. And then all the kilts. There seems to be a lot of kilts in the Playa which made me think of getting one. After checking the prices when I got back though, the kilt thing is way out of my league. After those two, the myriad changes and fluctuations in the Black Rock plumage varies specie to specie. There was one girl, she had the fur loin cloth thing going and the fur bikini top. A few feathers out of the top of her head and the facsimile of a lithe Native woman was born. There was one girl who had on a pair of whitish chaps with a silvery bedazzle thing going all over it with a orange day glow bikini on and a fur coat. That’s the other thing, fur. Fake fur. Faux fur. The Playa must be cold, or colder then these folks are used to, as the abundance of fur and cloaks and capes and trench coats would show. Now when I had gone to Sacramento to the smaller little get together of Man folks there was a contingent of fur bearers, but in Frisco it was in abundance. Fur cloaks or coats with little underneath and in some cases fur boots as well.
The other thing I noticed was that some people, more then less I might add, were absolutely glowing. One guy was so decked out in what I found out was EL wire that I was forced to ask him how many times he had seen the Disney movie Tron. He said he had seen it at least six times and that of all things there was a Tron 2 trailer on you tube. I have yet to check it out. But back to the guy. He had EL wire all over himself following the lines of the chest armor piece and gloves and goggles he was wearing to the point that you had to stop and realize he had done it all by hand. Another guy had a bike helmet on and in the segmented areas he had put small laser pointers that shone everywhere on the ceiling above him. He was the one that had brought a green glowing hand held “flashlight” of sorts. It projected many separate green beams and when you shook it it would fracture out the beams to quite wonderful end results. At one point during the festivities there was a girl with a section of shimmery cloth and the guy aimed the green beams at the cloth and the beams were fragmented all over the room and the people surrounding her. She moved the cloth in tandem with the beat of the music as well, which in the moment was quite groovus.
The other thing I noticed was that some people, more then less I might add, were absolutely glowing. One guy was so decked out in what I found out was EL wire that I was forced to ask him how many times he had seen the Disney movie Tron. He said he had seen it at least six times and that of all things there was a Tron 2 trailer on you tube. I have yet to check it out. But back to the guy. He had EL wire all over himself following the lines of the chest armor piece and gloves and goggles he was wearing to the point that you had to stop and realize he had done it all by hand. Another guy had a bike helmet on and in the segmented areas he had put small laser pointers that shone everywhere on the ceiling above him. He was the one that had brought a green glowing hand held “flashlight” of sorts. It projected many separate green beams and when you shook it it would fracture out the beams to quite wonderful end results. At one point during the festivities there was a girl with a section of shimmery cloth and the guy aimed the green beams at the cloth and the beams were fragmented all over the room and the people surrounding her. She moved the cloth in tandem with the beat of the music as well, which in the moment was quite groovus.
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 2
The road is long and took me north to the fabled land, and I arrived following the directions from mapquest. Now for some reason when at home I didn’t necessarily print out the maps the way I wanted them. Which I didn’t know until there, on the “streets of the city” as they say, and it was a warren of weird one ways and totally screwed up byways. I went way past the place I needed to go to and had to backtrack, but only once. The place it was at was a nice sized joint called the Mission, I think, as the sign when I arrived said “Flambé’ Lounge” and I knew I was in the right place. I actually knew it was the place because when I drove by the front of it I saw a smaller version of a step side van that was painted with pretty swirlies and spirals and then I saw all the cars and I knew it was the place that would contain my people. And they, the people, were there en masse.
Walking up I forgot I had my knife on me, as I always have my knife on me, and I had to back track a bit and remove it from me and install it in the car. I had a couple puffs off of the pipe of froppery, and headed back to the place. As I walked to the entrance I passed a few street guys living in a small park. Off of the edge of the land there were strange glyphs of wood sunk into the water. Ancient extinct piers. They were beautiful, and I watched them for a time. I finished up my smoke, yes the devil still has my lungs if not my soul, and walked in to my first real burning man experience.
The e-mail I had been sent had said that if you dressed in your Playa finest you would get into the shindig for fifteen dollars instead of twenty. The guy at the front listened to my thoughts on my normal gear I’m in twenty four seven and agreed that it was Playa certified. So fifteen dollars lighter I entered and witnessed the menagerie.
Walking up I forgot I had my knife on me, as I always have my knife on me, and I had to back track a bit and remove it from me and install it in the car. I had a couple puffs off of the pipe of froppery, and headed back to the place. As I walked to the entrance I passed a few street guys living in a small park. Off of the edge of the land there were strange glyphs of wood sunk into the water. Ancient extinct piers. They were beautiful, and I watched them for a time. I finished up my smoke, yes the devil still has my lungs if not my soul, and walked in to my first real burning man experience.
The e-mail I had been sent had said that if you dressed in your Playa finest you would get into the shindig for fifteen dollars instead of twenty. The guy at the front listened to my thoughts on my normal gear I’m in twenty four seven and agreed that it was Playa certified. So fifteen dollars lighter I entered and witnessed the menagerie.
Burnal Equinox 2009 Part 1
Bodies pressed against each other, barely any room to move let alone dance. The music is crystal and electronic, about 4 billion beats a minute and the guy actually mixed in “Jail House Rock” from Elvis. Oh wait, that was the other area of electronic undulation. It was the Burnal Equinox, the time between the last Man burning and the next Man to burn. It was held in San Francisco and I will relate to you the events as they transpired.
The Ford we have, resurrected and ready, somewhat, was traveling fine and dandy thank you very much, when it started to not. So much. It started to have the hitching and weird running and then fine then running then fine, but after the “pedal to the metal” it seemed to still suck. So, that which does not stop me makes me closer to the equinox, I continued out and up, as far as the coast and north are, to the land that rises and falls in very close increments. The land of San Francisco.
On the way I stopped off at a buddy’s, the one that bought the bar then lost the bar that is out in the boondocks, to acknowledge that I was going to be there, at some point in the morningishness, and continued down the road. Well, after a bit of the interplanetary frop that is.
Now for some reason I didn’t get gas before I went up there, and on the way back I was sweating it hard. When I finally made it to a gas station, a small one just outside of Kings City, I filled up the tank. After filling it up I found that I had about a half a tank left before it was finally empty. So after that, it was back to the road and where she took me.
The Ford we have, resurrected and ready, somewhat, was traveling fine and dandy thank you very much, when it started to not. So much. It started to have the hitching and weird running and then fine then running then fine, but after the “pedal to the metal” it seemed to still suck. So, that which does not stop me makes me closer to the equinox, I continued out and up, as far as the coast and north are, to the land that rises and falls in very close increments. The land of San Francisco.
On the way I stopped off at a buddy’s, the one that bought the bar then lost the bar that is out in the boondocks, to acknowledge that I was going to be there, at some point in the morningishness, and continued down the road. Well, after a bit of the interplanetary frop that is.
Now for some reason I didn’t get gas before I went up there, and on the way back I was sweating it hard. When I finally made it to a gas station, a small one just outside of Kings City, I filled up the tank. After filling it up I found that I had about a half a tank left before it was finally empty. So after that, it was back to the road and where she took me.
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