Eve in Search of a Wolf, Ilka Cohen [book club suggestions txt] 📗

I had been warned off “playa feet”, the result of the alkaline dust eating into one’s skin and causing deep cracks. Which is why so many people wear boots despite the heat. Well, I hadn’t any with me and only one little blister so far but gave the feet a real nice soaking and slathered on even more lotion everywhere just in case. Aside from that, my nose bleeds all the time here, dried out and irritated by the dust. Minor inconveniences of course. Breakfast was a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, that should fortify me for most of the day.



Time to pick out the day’s program, Eve. First I helped to build the puzzle of life, a rather complex evolution-themed painting with about a 1000 pieces. Of the other four persons in the tent, two were from Berlin. There must be something about jigsaw puzzles that attracts Germans. I did my share by putting together the caterpillar and the butterfly – a small but pretty corner. Then I visited Camp Sparkle for a DNA extraction, which could then be worn as a necklace. Just in case somebody has the urge to clone me.
On the way I came across this big Happy 50th camp, festively decorated. Some 20 people had come together there to celebrate their friend David’s 50th. They let me sit in the chair of honor for a while and admire how such an event should be properly handled. Take that, lame friends of mine! No, no, I don’t mean it, you’ll all come next year, right. Right?



Now I watched some pole-fighting on a balance beam, with spectators betting wooden tokens on the outcome. And found a camp that served mojitos (at 1 p.m. – my standards are slipping) and where I was able to create a colorful braid out of various wool strands. I clipped it to my tie-dye bandana – my hippification continuing. The bandana had become a necessity, it was becoming impossible to brush through the dust-caked hair.
Lunch break at the tent and then off to a Stones party where they played anything classic rock but the Rolling Stones, unfortunately all mixed with a techno beat. But the limonata with vodka was well done. I took a picture of this weird S&M bunny – all black leather, spikes and a big cross on the top, a posing pouch for the bottom half, a whip – and pink bunny ears and white gloves. Had to allow him to mildly spank me in return. Another kind of titillation I don’t get at all, but o well, it made him happy.



I tried to find the Star Wars Jedi Appreciation Party but did not. Perhaps there were not enough Jedi fans around. Instead met the margarita mobile – a golf cart crossed with a big blender. In the operator’s mind, the handle bars of the mixer also work as vibrator but he must have had some midget women in mind. My legs are way too long for that.
Then I participated in some sword fighting at the playa, near the Man. Three battles, about 4-500 people with foam-covered swords whacking at each other. What fun! The rules were simple: If you are hit on an arm or leg, you can’t use this limb anymore. If you are hit on the head or torso, you are dead and have to sit/lie in the dirt. Unfortunately, one tough woman whacked me hard enough to severe my wristband, and afterwards I only found the half without the watch attached in the dust. I looked for a long time, tried Lost and Found later, no luck. Being timeless is rather annoying to me and not liberating at all.



I witnessed the carrot demonstration – carrot-dressed folks with signs proclaiming “Carrots Are People, Too!” –, then the gathering for the bunny parade. Later on, the bunnies would fight the carrots. There was also a kazoo band and a parade of people in red dresses – these were the Burner Runners. As they explained to me, they run to be able to have a drink afterwards and then run again to sober up. I see a bit of a vicious cycle here. I had May Bock and a beer named WIT at the home brewers, then visited Oliver and Gary to see whether Aaron might have replied to my mail. He hadn’t but I got to know hyperactive Eddie who invited me to take a tour in their art car at 10 p.m. So I had to take the otherwise useless cell phone along to be able to check the time. Bother. Next to the Mobility camp, a woman had her book stand. She “releases books into the wild”, leaving them in public places like park benches, public transportation etc. All stamped with her email address, so she often is able to track a book’s course through the world. People in many countries participate. The table also offered various stamps for body decoration. I choose one saying “I am totally naked under my clothes”.
The program book promised 4 hours of Rock at Revo (for RevoFuckinLution Camp), and this was awesome. I danced like someone possessed with my wings for free Jägermeister and a very nice Burning Man pendant. Mostly with a cute bunny named Rob, until his girlfriend marshaled him out onto the playa.



The art car turned out to be the tour for handicapped Burners, 2-3 hours through the desert. Only it was by far the coldest night yet, and I was not dressed for sitting still that long, also not in the mood. So I hopped over to a different art car. A bridal party with skeleton groom and bride, two stories high and the dance floor made of a trampoline. That was more like it. I left the ride when I came across a cool indie rock band, migrated back to Rock at Revo, then to my camp at midnight. In the course of the day, I had casually invited several people for wine, so thought it would be the polite thing to be home. Of course, nobody showed up. Instead I served the wine to Noam from Tel Aviv from three tents away until he went off in search off a dub step party and I considered going to sleep. But then again, it was only 0:45 a.m. and my last night as Eve on the playa. Might as well have some more fun. Wrapped in the cloak I had borrowed from my son, I stepped onto the cold playa and made my round mostly to the fire sculptures for both beauty and warmth. Still, I totally missed that they already burned down 20 wooden sculptures that night. I talked to a guy from Seattle – about Starbucks no less. Eventually arrived at the Fandango dance bar across the playa (at 4:00 and Esplanade) for another drink and a lot more dancing and meeting and talking and hugs and general good feelings. With some resting on the mattresses of the Temple of Reemergence nearby, I made it all through the night. If Eve had found her wolf tonight, she surely would tell, but Ilka only remembers coming home in the glorious morning sun and catching two hours of sleep before it got too hot and noisy.

Felt sluggish and needed a long time to get cleaned and dressed and the camp organized and have a very half-hearted breakfast. My feet had finally acquired the deep playa feet cracks and fissures and hurt like hell. Neighbor Monkey Butt was helpful once more, superglued the cracks and gave me some foot balm. I started to expect Aaron and the others any moment now but eventually got bored of waiting and went to Lost and Found once more. No watch, but I had an interesting conversation with a real veteran Burner who had participated every year since 1995. Bemoaning the loss of the good old days without roads and law enforcement and with the freedom to drive off into the desert at night a bit. But apparently still enjoying it enough. I checked the public messages to see whether there might be one from Aaron. No, but the tech aide there was a German from Münster named Jan-Berndt who had wanted to visit Leipzig for a while. So we exchanged e-mail info. I love making connections.



I hopped onto an old-style bus art car going very slowly while playing “Life in the Fast Lane”, admired an art car in the shape of Terry Pratchett’s disc world – turtle carrying 4 elephants carrying the world. Still was back at camp in time. Samantha, Dominique and Victoria arrived at 1 p.m., Aaron half an hour later, having stopped at the cabin for firewood. Our camp got larger and much better equipped. I started to chafe a bit at all that unnecessary – well, in my eyes – sophistication. The pros and cons of adding company. Your camp is livelier and more comfortable, there was even birthday cake and ice cream, you have people you like around you to share your impressions with. But everybody immediately pulls into slightly different directions, no more aimless coming and going and floating on the currents of chance through Black Rock City for me. Yet I was so eager to show them all around my hometown. This is when I realized that it really had become home for me, that the greeting “Welcome Home” I found a bit silly at the beginning suddenly made total sense to me. I was as proud of this place as if I had built it. Looking at my photo output, I also realize that I took the greatest number of pictures on the first day. Then I was still the observer, gawking and documenting. Now it all felt so familiar. A remarkably accelerated acclimation.



All 5 of us decided to give the Party of the Century a chance, playing songs from 1901 to 2011. But first the two young women had to teach us old timers how to use a bong. Well, that was a pretty giggly affair in the tent. Aaron remained outside and smoked the saved joint in quiet and dignity. When we finally got to the century music, they had just reached the 50s, of which none of us was a big fan. Now we followed the girls on a long march in search of the cool dance place they had noticed during their first exploratory bike ride. When we found it, the afternoon dance was long over and the current program less promising. We tried various other places for a bit – Aussie night at RevoFuckinLution, a pole dance stage, a bonfire at the playa where we talked to some Coloradans. Got separated,