Rock On

Kenneth*, a musician i met online, invited me to the Burning Man Decompression Festival today. I saw the message at 11 a.m., and the performance was gonna start at half past noon. It was all the way out in San Francisco. On a whim, I decided that it sounded like fun, downed a cheese sandwich in two minutes flat, and went to check it out.

I was really proud and excited that i was following an impulse for a change, until i passed the Page Mill Road exit on 280. This is nuts, i thought. I had no idea what to expect.

As i drove past Daly City i started to realize just how far i was travelling. Genius, i thought.

I imagined what it would be like to drive 55 miles in order to get laid.

When i got there, it was impossible to find parking nearby, even though the area was nothing but warehouses and storage units. Oh, and abandoned, condemned buildings. But you could see the ocean atop the hill on Mariposa, and there were some cool apartment buildings along 3rd.

I had to park seven blocks away and take a walk. As i neared the site, i started spotting folks in costume. Not just any ol' costumes. Real loud, look-at-me- i'm-stange stuff. I started thinking, uh oh.

When i actually arrived, the guy who stamped my hand had a green face. The place was like a giant costume party, except everyone, but everyone, was way over the top. Lots of black and lots of fluorescent hues at the same time. Outfits were ripped, meshed, furred, petticoated, sequined... Heck, there was even a car there that was sequined. Not to mention fishnet stockings, kinky boots, and short shorts. I saw devils, fairies, and genies. A couple of genies had Nike running shoes on. And let's not slight good old-fashined goth folks and hippies. What a crowd. It was all very surreal. I kept thinking, la-la land!

I finally found where Kenneth was playing, but there was nowhere to sit. I stood in the shade for a while, until this locomotive steamed up and went off, emitting this ear-piercing noise. (Yes, of course there would be a locomotive.) I caught this tough guy dressed in leather and chains covering up his ears. Ah... the weirdos are human after all. We're not that different.

I realized that i didn't even know which one onstage was Kenneth. That fact struck me as crazy. After that i wasn't inspired to hang around much longer.

On the way back, i found passers-by staring at me. Me! For crying out loud. Me in my cotton tee and denim clamdiggers. I stuck out like a sore thumb.

I was reminded of this Twilight Zone episode that portrays this society where everyone looks like a pig, snout and all. There is this one person with a human face, and he's the one that gets picked on and has trouble fitting in.

The majority does rule, i see.


*Not his real name