BURNING MAN, PART TWO- THE PEOPLE YOU MEET

          You meet the most remarkable people at Burning Man. Nine months ago Colin O'Brady became the first person to walk across Antarctica. 

Two weeks ago I was hanging out with him at the

desert gathering. 

Arctic selfie

     Black Rock City attracts all kinds from all over.  There are more than a thousand camps. Our tribe had happy burners from a dozen countries.  Here are a few shots from our week there.

Chino Loco showing off his sandwich burning skills.  Divya, behind him, was our camp mother, protector of all.

 Me with globe-trotting media friends

Every day  Ravi would don a new costume to portray a Hindu god. How many of your neighbors do that?

   Ravi as Rama (lover of Sita, once kidnapped by a ten-headed monster, there's much to learn in the desert).

                Clean teeth, clean mind

    


     Miamian, Cailen Caplan, paid us a visit.  She handles government relations for the Burning Man organization.

  Our tribe, Camp Journeylizm.                                       Photo by Maciek Gryko

     The third day  I sat down in a tent for 200 to hear B'Man's CEO speak. Marian Goodell reminded us that one of the Burn's goals is to spread it's philosophy world-wide. If we do that there will be less consumption, more sharing and a healthier planet.
     She reminded us that we were camping on leased government land. We've got to leave it as pristine as we found it for the lease to continue.
     There are no garbage cans.  Everyone is expected to take care of not only their own trash but to pick up any other moop ("matter out of place") as well. This becomes a habit, part of B'Man's "radical self reliance" principle. 
     After Marion talked and answered questions, the shirtless emcee told us, "If you stay with us you can hear from first person to walk across Antarctica".
     I had to stick around for that.

PERILS OF THE  FLAMING JUMP ROPES

     Colin O'Brady, a trim 33 year-old took the mike and explained how he had become the world's first.
   

"I was always a good athlete. Swimming put me through college and afterwards I decided to back-pack around the world.  

      I've always liked challenges. At a beach party in Thailand, I tried my luck inside a flaming jump rope. Bad move, my legs tangled. Severely burns put me in a hospital for months. A week after doctors told me I might not walk again I took my first step".
     A year later he won his first triathlon and found his calling as a professional endurance athlete. These guys apparently keep looking for records to break.
    Two years ago Colin set the one for climbing the world's seven highest mountains (including Everest) in the shortest time.  After that he headed south.

     Beginning with Ernest Shackleton 100 years ago, men have tried to cross the southernmost continent. Until last Christmas, no one had ever done it alone, without assistance. Colin finished his 1000 mile trek last December 26th. He pulled the 300-pound sled carrying his supplies for 56 days to reach the far side. He did this fighting wind and  temperatures as low as -80 F. 
     He added he could have never done it without
the support of his wife, Jenna, his sponsors, and his meditation regimen. 

    Afterwards I chatted with the O'Bradys. They thanked me for being a teacher and pointed out that they worked together to bring two million students on the journey as well, virtually.  Many were amazed, I learned, that Colin did not change his underwear for almost two months.

      Now, he says, he wants to encourage other people to conquer "the impossible" in  own lives.  If he ever gets tangled in flaming ropes again he'll still have a great future as a motivational speaker.

    The big tent at the Pineapple Hotel camp had many other thought-provoking speakers as well. The next day I took my buddy, Ward, to hear a true
  ENVIRONMENTAL HERO.

     Before us stood a handsome 51-year old man wearing a sarong. Kevin Conrad is a world-class environmentalist. Twelve years ago representing Papau New Guinea at a world climate change conference Kevin made headlines when he told the balking United States representatives, "If your country can't lead the world for climate change, at least get out of the way so the rest of us can".

    Kevin's back story was intriguing. Born in the U.S., he was raised in a tribal village in the South Pacific. His missionary parents worked with villagers that included recovering cannibals. He told us, "I never wore shoes until I came to the U.S. to attend college". That afternoon he was wearing flip-flops.

    Kevin Conrad now directs The Coalition of Rain Forest Nations and was lauded by Time Magazine as being one of the world's leading environmental heroes. His group conceived and launched a $1.4 billion carbon remediation facility in cooperation with the World Bank. Their climate initiative has removed 6.2 billion ton of carbon from the atmosphere thus far.
     And there he was in his sky blue sarong telling us, "We've got all the tools we need to save the planet now. What we need for you to do is get your leaders to use them!".
     If we do all we can to elect people like Kevin, we stand a chance. 

     The people we got to know best  were those in our own tribe, "Camp Journeylizm". Composed of American and international journalists (plus family and friends) our group shared many stories.
  We'd get though the hottest part of the day conversing in our camp's "living room".  
    On the  night of the Burn, twenty-two of us set out on bikes to watch the fireworks, bonfire, and dance the night away.


 


     What a night it was. Several people told me as we prepared to leave the desert,  "What I liked best was the people I met", and I had to agree.  It's a long road to Burning Man and the folks who make it inside the front gate are special indeed.
              ___________________________


Drone shot of the Big Burn and the party surrounding it. That's us on the lower right.