The beginning for us...The Middle for Others

It is NOT as much where Kathe & I started on the Road to Burning Man as it is about where and who we are today...We have both pondered who & what we would be if we had not gone to our first Burning Man in '00...What would we know, Who would we know, What would be our definition of 'Community' without using all of you to describe it...

In April of '00 Kathe & I were 'Both' ready to step out of the small box society had helped us create. We knew we needed to do something 'Different'...We had thought about going to the Telluride Jazz Festival, though we had heard a year earlier of this thing called Burning Man. We were VERY intrigued and started reading the BM Web Site and to our surprise there was a HUGE phenomenon on the Internet and it was all about Burning Man.

We knew we could not attend both the Jazz Festival and Burning Man, so a decision needed to be made. The Jazz Festival would have been nice but still seemed quite inside the box...Burning Man on the other hand seemed to be the ultimate way to change that.

Hell I was an uptight Jew from NYC and knew that what I had thought was real was about to change the day we made the decision to buy tickets to Burning Man.

Prior to '00 there were a handful of Zonies that were already ushering in a new revolution by attending Burning Man. There was NO formal AZBurners group, a place for them to come together and share the experiences of the Playa...Share all year around.

The first AZBurning Man Internet Communication tool was on Topica...Remember Topica...

The first person Kathe & I met in the fledgling Community was Grover. He touched and resonated with both of us, we knew this was a soul we needed to learn from and influence...Grover had already been to the Playa in '99 and had a world of advice and information. Through the Topica group we decided it would be a good idea to get together, meet and greet each other, test out our shade structures, swap stories...

We decided that Lake Roosevelt would be a good place to camp for the weekend and simulate the conditions on the Playa...I think there were 10 of us that first weekend, August of '00.

(Joe & Pammi, Grover, Bartholomew, Jade & Dave, Scotto & Kathe, Matt & Rita)

Some of the things I remember....

It was hotter than SHIT that weekend...Temps in the 110's...BUGS galore, Mosquitoes, Flies and Bees...Even though we had all just met, there was a sense that we were all about to CHANGE our destiny and our future...and change it together....

A small Propane Tank thrown in the fire, when it exploded it torched one of the NEW chairs Kathe & I had brought...Good thing no one was sitting in it at the time.

Lots & Lots of Beer and debauchery...

The shade structure we created was going to be wholly inadequate and was going to need major overhaul...

Joe's Bronco needed a Master Cylinder and being able to call Jerry to come from the Valley and bring one...

Trading Joe an Ice run into town for him dealing with our garbage that was SWARMED with Bees...Did I mention I hate Bees...

Thus was our first AZBurner event...

With three weeks till the Playa we franticly started getting ready...

Burning Man CHANGED my life and the life that Kathe & I share together...We shall never be the same...

Burning Man is a 29-hour a day party for a week...

It is about looking at your 'Box' and deciding if it must remain a Square.

It has shown me that building 'Community' takes effort, shared effort...

...bringing multitudes of people together from divergent parts of the Globe and creating a shared safe space to learn and grow together.

The Playa is about discovery of self...

...The discovery of those we just met or those we have known for a lifetime

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Here is the 'First' post on the AZBurners Yahoo Group...

Gary Taylor
Date: Sat Feb 3, 2001 6:44 pm
Subject: Hey Grover

I didn't here back from you about the last post I sent a week ago. Just wondering what is up.

Gary

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In 3.5 Years and 12,131 (7/10/04) Messages later we are a thriving, bustling, energetic, loving, nurturing, giving, gifting Community...

A Community WE are VERY proud to be a part of and be a representative of...