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This One Time at Burning Man
And the eternal gift of an open heart
“You need a headlamp, a Camelbak and a big, fuzzy coat. Trust me, the coat is KEY.”
I was on the phone with one of my childhood best friends going over the list of items I would need for my first Burning Man.
It was 2004 and I had never heard of the temporary city in the desert until she told me she had gone the year prior and had “found our people.”
Since then, I have been five times and the list of necessities has expanded, but those three elements certainly remain priorities.
In fact, the last time I went in 2013, I brought several headlamps. They are small, inexpensive, easy to travel with and could be a lifesaver for another burner who is without one.
While the city is literally on-fire 24/7 with light, lasers and all sorts of sounds, it can be dark out there in those port-o-potties in the deeper recesses of the desert at 4 a.m.
A simple gift can hold priceless value.
When I first started going to The Burn, I encountered many people who thought Burning Man was just a big, hippy-filled drug-fest in the middle of the desert. I have seen the smirks and received the “Oh, you’ve gone to Burning Man…” reaction many times over the years.
