fire in the sky

"strange but not a stranger..."

anybody burns home

first burn

fire in the sky

back to burn

burning man
2001

my friend asleep... the quiet of an empty desert around us. the darkened road flowing smoothly under the tires

as it grew darker, i noticed the few scattered clouds were filled with a strange glow. "must be a storm in the distance" i thought. i wondered if it would rain

the clouds were suddenly alive with moving light... dynamic... ebbing and then growing again. "no lightning?" there weren't many clouds... a very strange storm indeed. we were another hour from the playa

i woke my friend at Gerlach. we entered Black Rock City after the Man had burned... i realized *months* later that The Man's hot demise had been the source of the glowing clouds

the burn... i had missed it. i didn't give it much thought at the time... i wasn't even sure *what* i had missed

there were plenty of things still on fire. the raw release of energies... the smells... the motion... the sounds. there was a huge rave just starting up. the drums were amazing, pounding... pulsating. i had entered a strange world, i was disoriented and suddenly energized

it was chilly... but not if i danced!  anybody can dance!
"many things are made better by dancing." i decided.
such is the profoundness of burning man

by dawn i was back in the car and on my way home, to the small box of my life. i didn't realize it was so...so... small

i knew i would have to come back to burning man... 
i planned for next year on the drive home. 
next year i would come to burning man "on purpose"

anybody burns returns...