September 8, 2003
Santa Barbara, California, USA

12:30am. I’m sitting on Shannon’s bed propped up by pillows with my back against the wall, feeling comfortable and satisfied with a tangy tongue from a tangerine freshly picked off a tree in the backyard here at Steve and Laura’s home where Shannon is a nanny for an 18 month Jayden. The night the man burned in Black Rock City I grabbed Shannon by the chaps and we’ve journeyed together ever since--a week tonight to be exact.

I followed Xan, my costume designer, sculptor, stilt walking sista to the El Circo dome. Packed shoulder to shoulder with freaks and beauties, Xan was lost in a blink. After a spell of bump and grind on stage I jumped down and found a knockout blonde professing she’d divorce her husband to have me. Whirl, whirl, we dug each other groove. She spun out playing hard to hold, we did our own thing, and then came back together.

A funky threesome smiling wide drew near feeling our vibe. "Let me show you my sexy dance," Blondie said as she began to give our new friends a special show. It was about that time I noticed the sequin dragonfly covering Shannon’s chest. I saw it as a sign. Blondie was left doing her thing with the our two, while I took my new friend for a spin, holding her close to pass information about the FAR OUT master plan. She’d been scheming a wellness center for years and keenly listened to what I had to say.

The rest of the night we rocked our world, reveling in glorious celebration, gyrating and thrashing to the flow and beats before a candle lit alter, praising each other and the MC -- all of us in the prime time of our lives, livelier than any video on MTV, wild youth carefree and healthy, dressed like Halloween. I honestly believe it could have been the craziest party in the world at that moment --- just like the scene in Matrix Reloaded when the bohemian hipsters are getting it on in Zion --- the last bastion of freedom.

Sunday afternoon Shannon’s ride left the dust behind, so I promised to bring her back home to Santa Barbara. That night we joined the crowding masses and held each other tight as the Temple of Honor went up in a divine flame and disappeared in smoke, then we relaxed on couches enjoying the warmth of a fire pit fueled by camp accessories--everything from wooden bar stools to perfectly good mattresses and anything else that could turn to ashes.

As daylight arose I rode a bicycle hands free, arms wide, eyes closed across the hard packed desert sands to art instillations-- such as an adult size jungle gym where folks were gathered to sit on top and watch the sunrise. Then I visited the skier statue to suck soy milk white Russian from its Camelback nipples. Burning Man is a fairy tale you must experience for yourself. It is different for everyone. Words can’t explain Shannon in my arms with legs around my waist as she spun doing my early morning desert dance greeting the sun.

Again, here I am laying on her bed, surrounded by her beads with mine and scattered freshly scrawled loose leaf as I contemplate how to make two paths one until the new year when the FAR OUT Mexico project is complete and I continue as SoloMAX by kayak. She knows what I am talking about. She sees the vision and wants to be a part of it through teaching fire dancing, massage, yoga and doing childcare. Shannon is dear to me, but I must stay focused on SoloMAX and be detached to stay on my path. Many men in this position with such a beautiful woman might have a mind for marriage, by my missionary obsession wont think of that with so much work to do first. Shannon and I must work on busy-ness and paying bills. We have a gallery space booked at the Santa Barbara public library to do a show on September 22nd at 8pm. I have sponsors to find and brochures to print and distribute between now and then, as well as many other details I can’t get into now.

Tonight I intended to drive to San Francisco, but only got as far as the train station where I picked up two Lithuanian boys to pay for gas. Shortly after leaving the station the Dragonfly Spaceship’s power died and I had to return the boys. It is not a major deal-- likely just a new battery and good tune-up.

11:30pm. Today I called around to alternative schools and youth corrections looking for opportunities to do shows. By chance I saw Santa Barbara Adventure Company in the phone book, invited the owner to my show on the 22nd, and got hooked up with a kayak-guiding gig for Thursday. Tomorrow I’m meeting with the man himself to talk more about it. Also in the morning I’ll have a coffee with Siobhan, the owner of Muddy Waters, who I met last night at the Clan Destino decompression BBQ and after-burn slide show.

I have to follow up on a stack of business cards three inches thick and a To Do list that is a little depressing, but it’s all a trip and I just gotta take it one step at time.