Today was beautiful. Cooler, low wind and we got to finally really ride out and explore.
At night we went back out in Harrison’s artcar. This was a gift to me because my back, hip, whatever was super cranky and I couldn’t really walk or ride and I so wanted to see what it was like at night.
Harrison is our age and was wonderful, generous, loves the Burn. His favorite thing is the just-in-time happenchance things that happen – like Rick with the pancake.
He drove us out to the Titanic which was going to be burned tonight at 9. There was a huge circle of space around the Titanic with firemen/women monitoring the space and safety of all. I later learned that before building the Titanic, they had dug down into the playa and put down a protective shield so that the burn wouldn’t hurt the playa.
While Harrison drove his shark car with Kellie, Rick and me (Lauren and TJ rode bikes), Scott came alongside on his electric motorized tricycle that he had reclaimed from an earlier burn friend.
When he first started working on it a couple days before I didn’t think there was anyway he would get it to run. But between his determination, Kellie’s problem solving and engineers in the camp who had all kinds of electric pieces to replace, repair etc., he got it going. He was very pleased and of course had a great burn outfit. Burn outfit – fake fur, goggles, mask. Me – big yellow rain coat with hoodies underneath. I did not fit the vibe. But I was comfortable!
While we waited for the burn which took a LONG time, we walked all the way around the circle surrounding the Titanic, seeing all the art cars and dancers and activity. Wild. So much music/sound, constant colors/lights, a huge sensory load and I absolutely loved it. It was so vibrant! And very fun people watching. So much creativity in the art cars and costumes. Really fun. I just had a big grin the whole walk.
After waiting quite a long time, the Titanic burned. I realized that not only had they created the art, they had also curated the fire so that it would burn in a particular pace, area, and with planned demolition. Fascinating.
Rick rode out the next morning to see and it was completely cleaned up. Nothing to be seen, not single piece of burnt wood. Incredible.
