There is no "I" in TEAMWORK, but there is a "WE"

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.

Time to plan anew, to reminisce, and to create.

I have just recently completed 9 months of unbelieveably busy and fulfilling geology, travel, and trenchless technology education that should have killed me.

And I want more.

What did I do?

To recap:

January 2008 - I went to Atlanta, Georgia for the Underground Construction Technology Conference and exhibition, where I taught two sections each in three different courses; delivered what I considered to be a landmark paper in the field of geology as applied to trenchless technology, and created a lot of goodwill. While there, I also had lunch with Tribe friend Mickey.

March 2008 - I went to Arlington, Texas for a full week's stay to oversee the Lawson-Matthys construction inspection course (again, in trenchless technology) that I co-taught with my fellow trenhless gurus. A good time was had by all, and I even took four courses myself for my own continuing education.

May 2008 - Interfuse, the Midwest Burners' regional burn at Ozark Avalon. I finally meet Kamikaze Kelly.

June 2008 - I take off for the People's Republic of China for 6 days. I teach a course in trenchless technology to the Chinese participants from the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau.

August 2008 - I take a long trip to Black Rock City, Nevada, to the big burn there. I was a participant this year at ..... Burningman.

Yep.....that's me, constructing my art project on-playa....the Gateway to the Future, which when constructed, looks like:

You see it here, framing both the effigy and the Temple of Community.

At night, it looked like:

Barely returning from that trip, I was again thrust into 'crunch time'. Everything was happening at once. The results of the crunch were stellar, as I SUCCEEDED in all the goals I had for myself.

But that's for the next post.

That's it.

For a brief moment in time this morning, I contemplated leaving my blog up at Tribe without back-up. Then I saw what was left of my blog. Three entire months of my life, missing. Considering all that's happened in those three months - I keep it alive in my heart and soul, and plan on keeping it alive forever. I wanted to share the joy of my life and where I go and what I do....starting with:

The People's Republic of China at the end of June........

Burningman at the end of August........

Flagstaff just a mere two weeks after Burningman.....

AND all the rest of it.

Well, no longer. Duplicate posts of my Tribe blogs will now appear HERE. Perhaps they will be inspirational to a larger audience. I can only hope and pray that the community enhancement that I learned and applied on the Black Rock playa in Black Rock City will be reflected here, as will my eventual goal of uniting others in building communities.