Community. I'll hammer on and on about it until somebody gives me some clue that they actually catch on to the meaning of it. IF perchance you don't, let me tell you a story about some dear friends of mine. There were two men in California, a pair of gentlemen I met this summer who had a dream. Their names were Gothalot and Skirblah. They came up with an idea on paper of building an origami crane on the playa. Not one made from paper, but one built in the shape of a crane using lumber. Gothalot and his wife Butterfly Lisa sat down at a table, and they built the fiirst one from balsa, to see if the idea was 'doable'. And the idea was born. It would be a temple to the idea of community. In fact, it would be called Sembazuru, the Temple of Community. The concept was refined over months of planning, erecting a model crane, and burning it. There was learning from mistakes, and there was capitalization on the strengths of the build. Then, it came time to actually build the real thing, take it apart, and reassemble it on the Black Rock Playa.
People came from Florida, from Missouri, from California, because they BELIEVED in the concept, they WANTED the success, and were willing to work DAMN HARD to get it.
There were dust storms, choking clouds of alkali dust that caused eyes to burn and people to take cover. But the crew came together, and the Temple was built. For several days, in a triumph of truth and love on the playa, Sembazuru was a REALITY.
Unexpected things happened. One burner, showing his respect for the creation of the Temple, came out with a leaf blower to blow the dust from the temple and carefully rake the crushed weathered granite mound on which it was placed in preparation for the burn. Many left messages written in Sharpie on the pillars and shelves of the Temple. Special trinkets of times past were left for the burn. Each location was respected by the hundreds of burners who visited. Even Japanese burners who came to the Temple left in awe, mouthing the word 'Sembazuru' as they departed. I noticed several who bowed deeply in respect of what they had seen.
I was involved in the build on the playa. I'm proud of my involvement, and prouder still to call those burners on the crew - Gothalot, Lisa, Skirblah, Pikey, Ninjakitty.......ALL of them are my friends and family of the Rue Morgue. I love you all. And for a brief shining moment on the playa, the burners who stopped and took notice understood on a deep level just what we all were trying to say. And when it burned, it would forever become etched in our memories, our community forged together by the flames.
The photo here was taken by Peter Pan, and reflects the nightime of our shining moments.
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