Beautiful Jesus at Burning Man
This is my favorite photo from Burning Man this year(99). I have lots and of course I have better shots but this man was just so amazing. I wish I could have shot him against a backdrop but you get what you can out there, things just zoom by and change from moment to moment so you wind up settling for things just so you can have a record of them. In any case, I had the time of my life, and this man really embodied Christ-Spirit, he was so lovely and went around helping people unburden themselves of their shame and then forgave everyone, what a loving thing to do : )
If anyone has any photos of this Jesus I'd love to add them to this page with return links to you. Please send any pics of Christ, any Christ will do, or any other miraculous/mystical photos or writings from the burn, that you would like me to add to this site, to maltibar@aol.com.
I'm trying to put together a web site with my playa journal and all of my pics but it might take a wee bit o' time since I'm attempting to learn Dreamweaver so I can do it myself. When I get that going I'll leave this page up and link you there : ) BTW aol may not let me link you back to Ring Of Fire so please be sure and hit your back button to get back there. I'll do all I can to add the link here though.
The following is a post I put on the Burning Man site just after I got home, maybe it will explain things a bit for you.
"God, where do I begin? Burning Man 99 was the sweetest, most inclusive, amazing, communal experience I've ever had. I had been trying to get there for three years and decided, with all the force of will I could summon, that nothing would prevent me this year so I snagged my mother's credit card, (still doing that at 37 but she knows, I do it all the time, and darn it I had to go), rented a big-ass motor home, (I was too scared to try to rough it in a tent), and took my nine year old son. My sweet man-friend joined us later in the week. We took huge rolls of astro turf and a pool for the kiddies and more water than I've ever seen, let alone hauled up steep mountains in a rackety RV, and about a thousand condoms which we turned into bracelets to pass out to a fraction of the folks there who said great things like, "Thanks I'll go use that right now."
I kept a diary and was really diligent about it, although it was really hard to do because every second spent recording memories was a
lost moment in real time that could have been spent participating or, God forbid, "spectating." I kept a photo diary with my Sony Mavica as well and shot hundreds of pics to share with you once I get my site up and join the ring. I feel pretty intimidated by the awesome websites that have already been designed but I just have to express how beautiful and meaningful, wild and loving the experience is. I agree that it was like Halloween and the Fourth of July and Woodstock without the corporate sponsorship. I loved the people, I loved their theme camps, I loved their art, I loved their open hearts. I loved The Gyna Tree the most and my son loved NoNo the Naked Ape, he liked the way he swung his dick around, go figure. I also liked the way the folks from LA Cacophony dressed, the girls always had something pretty and sparkly on their nipples to match their shorts and skirts.
We were kids camp, we had a kiddy pool and free lemonade stands. We circled the wagons and let the kids play in the middle and pretty much everywhere else they wanted to. The burn was great but we wondered what happened to his arms and are waiting for a technical description of the event, which someone will hopefully post.
Leaving was heartbreaking, we cried hard for about a half hour and when Radio Free Burning Man faded out we had this strong desire to turn back around. All along the highway and at rest stops and hotels, whenever we saw anyone with a dusty car, bikes, PVC, wood and tarps strapped on, or playa mud caked on their shoes, we honked and waved, blew kisses or hugged them if we could. It felt like we were family, part of a tribe of people who meant well and shared a sense of loss at the ending of something so magnificently free and hopeful, so full of love and trust.
I wanted to take one of the many signs that accompanied our journey in, but they were made of wood, hard to remove and might bring bad juju upon removal so we left them alone but I would have liked, "Slow the Fuck Down," or "Now Entering the Vacant Heart of the Wild West," or even "Piss Clear." My favorite sign was the giant UNDERPANTS sign, it was just so funny to see such a silly word in huge letters. My favorite bike was the huge red squid bike. My favorite large piece of art was that amazing spinning metal ball piece and I loved the scuba dog and baby. I have to say that my favorite art car was the Black Rock Taxi service because they gave all of us, including five very tired little kids a ride home to Kid's camp when our weary feet could carry us no farther. My favorite sound was anytime someone would say "Citizen's Of Black Rock City," cause it struck a deep and tender cord inside me and for once in my life made me feel like I was a part of a place where I belonged, where my creativity, my uniqueness, my sensitivity, were assets to be appreciated and that my nonconformity was actually the very opposite in this amazing mixed up place where the plainest of people stood out for their normalcy and I was able to literally lose my nightie with a spin of a karmic wheel and bike back home naked.
I can't tell you how much I love and miss every single one of you. You are my family. You are my true home. I will forever treasure this dust.
All my love,
Jacqui"
