Serendipity

[Lonesomebri]

Stumbling blind into where you were meant to be, realizing the art you are in front of unexpectedly is what you had planned to see all along, running into friends in strange places, or running into strangers who are obviously your friends, the unanticipated that had to happen.

Last year it was my buddy hyping coconut water as a hang-over cure, without ever trying it or actually getting any… I’m riding my bike thru my BRC hood, and there is a guy with a machete knocking the tops off coconuts and sticking straws in them. He offers me one. I mention my buddy’s fixation, and the guy gives me another coconut for my buddy back at camp, because my buddy was the one who “manifest” this exchange here.

This year during the ticket scramble, one of the people I met heckling online here turned out to have visited my camp the previous year and talked with me, questioning my judgment even back then (but that is another story). What a small city !!! BRC 2011-“We have it listed as a camp event in the Guide. It’s an eternal flame that runs from 5:45 to 6pm daily, weather permitting.” “Really? Well, good luck with that.” We had already snarked in person !

This year I see a craigslisting from TaxiJack, dude runs some pedicabs on the playa. You see, this concerns me because I run a Chariot behind my bike. Mine is not a pedicab, oh no. But you can see the similarities here. We both haul people around the playa and realize just how cool that is. I got my rig off craiglist and that’s where I also learned of TaxiJack and his empire. It was just him before, but then he started turning other people on to the joy of hauling others around. He’s made several TaxiJack pedicabs and lent them out to others this year. He’s my competition, my nemesis, my obsession (I can pretend, right?). I’m not saying that he’s my rival in any way, but he is so totally my rival, in theory. So, this year, at one of the early burns, out of the blue I run into the man, TaxiJack himself. Can’t even remember how the conversation came up where we introduced each other and I learned his true identity and tried to explain to him the nature of our rivalry. Nice guy. Next year I’m gonna have to hustle twice as hard to steal business from him….

And, since returning from this year’s burn, I received an email; someone seeing my flyer up at Center Camp has found my Lost Dog Snowball !!!!

[Eric]

Yeah - we call it "playadipity"

This year I was restless & no-one was around camp, so I went off looking for a friend. I heard people talking softly in his tent and shouted out a "hello", got a "busy!" as a response (*sigh*)

The next night he comes over to our camp so we can begin the evenings adventures in the Friday whiteout, and asks if he can bring some others along. They turn out to be two wonderful girls...and the reason he was "busy", an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in 8 years (since he moved to Israel). I had no idea he was at the Burn, and he was shocked as all hell when I shouted his name as he walked into the RV. Turned out to be one of the best nights of this and any year.

Best playadipity ever!

[Bob]

A $20 bill literally blew into my hand when I was walking the trash fence in '99.

Looked around for DB Cooper, but no luck.

[Lonesomebri]

A $20 bill literally blew into my hand when I was walking the trash fence in '99.

Looked around for DB Cooper, but no luck.

Wow, talk about serendipity.....could you please describe to me that $20 bill.......
I didn't notice I'd dropped it til the slots in Boomtown.

[Zhust]

I walked to the Burn Wall Street site and checked out art cars. I sat down and was thinking I could go for a nip of whiskey. A guy sat down next to me and stuffed a bottle of bourbon into my field of view. He said his name was Yuri. It took a few minutes to ask, but it turned out I knew him from Rochester a few years ago. He was just walking through looking for someone to sit near and picked me pretty much at random (without knowing he knew me.)

[Simon of the Playa]

theres a ghost town right outside of lovelock called Rochester...

no matter where you go, there you are....

[ygmir]

theres a ghost town right outside of lovelock called Rochester...

no matter where you go, there you are....

Jack Benny's ghost is there.

[Dr. Pyro]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

[ygmir]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

probably none......it was aimed at the seasoned intellectuals among us.

[Lonesomebri]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

I wouldn't touch it with a 12 inch stick.

[FIGJAM]

[theCryptofishist]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

probably none......it was aimed at the seasoned intellectuals among us.

*checks carefully* No, I don't smell like oregano. I guess I won't get it either.

[ygmir]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

probably none......it was aimed at the seasoned intellectuals among us.

*checks carefully* No, I don't smell like oregano. I guess I won't get it either.

[BBadger]

In 2011 after a long night of partying and having fun we decided to finish the night by watching the sunrise. So we ride out into the middle of the playa trying to find a nice place to sit and watch the sun unfold.

Then we happen upon a couch wired to the ground in the playa facing the city.

"Holy shit! A couch!"

We flipped that thing around and it was a perfect place to watch the sun rise. I even got a photo of our moment of relative peace.

[SaritaSyrah]

And, since returning from this year’s burn, I received an email; someone seeing my flyer up at Center Camp has found my Lost Dog Snowball !!!!

Your dog was lost? On the playa?

[Lonesomebri]

And, since returning from this year’s burn, I received an email; someone seeing my flyer up at Center Camp has found my Lost Dog Snowball !!!!

Your dog was lost? On the playa?

Yeah, I left the little scrumpousness tied to the Man, went out the next morning sober and must have gotton all turned around, couldn't find the Man at all. Some good Samaritan has contacted me via email, going off my avatar and the Lost Dog signs I posted burn night, they found my puppy and have tied it securely to the "temple", whatever that is. Anyway, once I find that, the happy reunion begins.

Do you know Mel from BDC? She told me it was okay to bring my puppy.

You don't need no playa and string to go hippy fishing.

[SaritaSyrah]

hahahaha

FUCK

I feel silly. You got me.

[Lonesomebri]

Your dog was lost? On the playa?

[Drawingablank]

Yggy, how many of these hippie namaste-chanting vegan whippersnappers do you think will get that joke?

I get it, but don't know whether to feel smug about being old.