This was my second burn. Last year I did lamplighting twice and enjoyed it. When the JackRabbit Speaks came out and said that more Temple Guardians were needed it just felt like something I needed to do. I didn't spend much time at the temple last year. Just knew it was sad art. Didn't know there were temple guardians but I don't think I was there at night either. Last year I had to panic pack just before the Temple Burn and leave immediately after. The friend taking my camping gear decided to leave before the burn. I missed the first part of the burn and then the rental van didn't start afterwards. This year I decided the Temple Burn needed to be given another chance because last year it was surrounded by stress.
I arrived at Black Rock City (i.e. Burning Man in Nevada) Monday afternoon and set up my tent in the wind and pouring rain. At one point I was lying on my bed in there after setting it up thinking it seemed a lot more inviting than being outside. I missed the meet and greet because I didn't want to go out in the weather. Later around 6 pm I walked down to Burn Town. A person on the couch said that the Temple Guardian contact wasn't around so I walked out to the Temple and went to bed before 10 pm. I got up at 2:30 am and went for my 3-6 pm shift. I almost gave up trying to find the guardians but then I did and I enjoyed my shift. I met a builder who was also a guardian and who was tending the fire places. It was interesting to hear about the design of the Temple. I asked about people climbing on it and whether it was safe but he said they'd go through and then it would be the Temple of Ouch. The veins had to be placed where the architects had specified but then the small boards were placed according to a more general scheme and each fixed in place. We were shown a map with the seven caves and got our bandannas. Last year I never saw a sunrise so I signed up for this shift so I would see one. As it happened I saw the one the next day too because friends were Temple Guardians then and invited everyone. It was really cold being right on the playa and not a wooden floor. I had seen mittens on Burning Man packing lists but didn't really take it seriously (I was never up this late last year.) I kept my freezing cold hands stuffed in the pockets of my fun fur jacket. Next year I'm bringing mittens. I made some friends with the other guardians and saw the Temple in its almost pristine state. A friend from the Internet came by to meet me and I went with him and his wife back to their camp and they made me pancakes and hot chocolate. Next year I'll try for the same sunrise shift as my friends.
I went back to the Temple with Halcyon and the Pink Bike Ride. He gave a quiet talk while we sat there. I'd been watching HugNation on Tuesdays off and on all winter so it was great to actually meet him and be part of the Love Warriors.
Friday night midnight until Saturday 3 am I had my second shift. The feeling at the Temple was quite different. It was covered in mementos and lots of people there. I wasn't sure I was going to make it there. I'd been out to the Megatropolis burn and lost in the white out on the playa for over an hour or two. I wasn't willing to risk going to the Temple in a white out. We must have walked close to it and never seen it. The art cars were surrounding the Temple and people partying there since the Man was off bounds. I'm not much of a partier so that suited me just fine. We got to learn about tending the fireplaces from Chris and we met one of the architects, Ben. The other guardian was enjoying the fire tending role which was pretty cool. I picked the midnight shift because I figured any big burns would be over by then so there'd be nothing to miss. It worked out well and I liked the contrast of the two shifts.
I had asked on the emails what the difference between viewing the temple burn from the inner circle and being on perimeter but I think people had already left for the playa. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend 6 hours on the perimeter so I didn't sign up. I headed down to the Temple around 7 pm or so and told the guardians at the perimter that I wanted to help. They sent me round to the rangers at 3 o'clock. I spoke with the ranger in charge. Turns out there's training for perimeter and it sounded like watching from the inner circle meant that you were in the way of people sitting behind the perimeter. He said he liked having people in the crowd to set the tone. He thought having too many people in the the perimeter interfered with the enjoyment of the experience for the crowd. He said that a couple of them had to walk about. So I sat in the front row and didn't get in anyone's way. I made a friend and comforted him during the burn. I wasn't emotionally affected by the Temple but I've got major walls because I had so many deaths surrounding me a few years ago. It was a quiet calm place for me. I didn't try to go into any of the small crevices and I didn't leave any mementos. I was quite inspired by the concept of designing a temple and the elements to consider when doing so.
I'm planning to volunteer again next year. I did lamplighting twice again this year. It feels good to do these things. I was sorry to hear about the cat's box getting moved. On my second shift I saw a box of styrofoam pellets outside with a bunch of other cardboard boxes. Looked like someone was dumping garbage there but I left them because who could tell.
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