BB’s Home Page > Rainbow Hipstory
There were two separate Thanksgiving Councils on the same weekend in 2006, after Vision Council had consensed for the area that included Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The one I attended was in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma. The other one in Austin, Texas is described below. (The 2007 gathering wound up in Arkansas.)
Subject: Austin Update
From: cinnamon
Date: November 20, 2006
Newsgroups: alt.gathering.rainbow
Everything is looking good for TGC at the Enchanted Forest & it looks like the weather will be beautiful for the whole week. Expect daytime highs in the 70’s and nighttime lows in the 30’s or 40’s.
Kiddie Village kitchen should be plugging in at this very moment and an Austintatious meal of breakfast burritos is planned for Tuesday morning. The kitchen is requesting lots of oil (for turkey frying), propane, and of course all other food donations are always welcome & appreciated.
Thanksgiving dinner will be a potluck and everyone is encouraged to bring foods for sharing. Don’t forget your bowl & spoon (or plate & fork, ect)
Several folks have already plugged in. Again the address is 1412 W. Oltorf...look across the street from the Home Depot for the Welcome Home sign.
Please call the info lines if you need any more info:
Pixie 512-XXX-XXXX
Cinnamon 979-XXX-XXXX
Subject: Re: Austin Update
From: euby
Date: November 25, 2006
Newsgroups: alt.gathering.rainbow
More Austin update, or what I did for Thanksgiving (with apologies to BB for theft of style - call it emulation).
Since my Blood-related family could only get together as a group Friday, Wednesday, after I made sure my vegetarian sister knew how to (and would) defrost & cook a turkey for my folks on Thanksgiving day, I drove the 60 miles to check out the Enchanted Forest & the Austin Thanksgiving Council. I would have preferred to go to the Oklahoma gathering, but that was 500 miles (each way), and free time was short, so I made do.
I parked across the street from the Enchanted Forest at the Office Depot, at 10pm or so, walked across the street into the entrance that had a “Welcome Home” sign, to a fire in a washing-machine tub fire ring. I was welcomed and conversed with a famous Rainbow gatekeeper, whose name I knew, and was serenaded by another brother who should be (will be) famous. A parking space was suggested to me, which I was reluctant to accept, because I believed that space was severely limited (some bad information on AGR), and I was perfectly capable of spending the night most anywhere in Austin in my truck. But eventually I pulled in and added my truck to the at least 4 other vehicles parked in that entrance (with room to spare between the (fresh) porta-potties, and more if double parked). There were probably another 4 permanently parked inside the other entrance, and about 4 more spaces for “locals” on site, near the front.
Maybe 7 people made it up to the gate while I was there, and introduced themselves or were called by name, and I ran across maybe 5 more at the kitchen (on city property I suspect), a short stroll in the woods through a sculpture garden, and over a nearly dry creek. Some were local, but the rest most of you would know by name, as I frequently read their names in the posts at groups.google.com/ group/ alt.gathering.rainbow.
After I was told I was likely the only other one still up, I took a stroll to a local bar, told anyone there who wanted to know that I was attending a “Hippie Convention” & ran into a local brother who knew Rainbow people I have known. I came back and played “gate” for awhile (and I wasn’t the only other one still up). Eventually I crawled into my bag in the back of my truck & had a restful sleep.
In the morning I met some more folk whose names you would know, including one surprise of a friend from Missouri who could have nearly driven by the OK site to get to Austin. He was unaware of that gathering (and had never heard of MiketwoFeathers - got another name?). I got self-serve coffee in the kitchen (I mean back side of the bliss-rail - something to be said for small gatherings besides that they are “permitted”), and later potatoes & eggs (front side of the bliss rail - as it should be). Without asking, I re-washed some dishes that were still in the wash water, and figured maybe I should ask what the kitchen wanted me to do for my next chore. I failed that one miserably also (to make some signs for the compost, dishwaters etc), but no one seemed to notice & I blissed on. Due to a variety of reasons, my mind became quite altered some time after breakfast. I did pick up some trash for a bit, which occasionally got me the attention of three small dogs all of the same breed, with heads that seemed too small for their bodies (Whippets???).
The extent of my conversations was listening to some great Rainbow & road stories, all loaded with good humor, occasionally halted in deference to a train (maybe 1 per 2hr?) making it’s noise for awhile. Occasionally the loss of a brother/ sister was noted with remorse. Not much Rainbow politics was hustled. I managed to tell the “recording secretary of the rainbow” that I thought that the leaders of the rainbow should quit leading, but that was all the advice I could muster. At one point I noted to myself that the 5 other people in my circle had all “accepted” tickets for assembling without a permit. Never having felt the boot of oppression/tyranny first hand, I kind of felt my two cents would have been worth about 2 cents to them.
The kitchen was quite active, a turkey was deep fried, and (I am guessing) the second turkey turned out to be a chicken (and all that was left for “seconds”), but all was satisfying, with maybe 5 more “somethings” on the side, and pies also. I do recall greeting what I think turned out to be the landowner(s) with a “welcome home” - and hope that went over better than it sounds like it could have. I would guess that over 20 people is about right for afternoon Thanksgiving meal attendance, and would not be surprised if someone told me the official count was 30. I got to meet “those folk from Bastrop” which should preserve their anonymity quite adequately, as there were no folk from Bastrop in attendance (that I knew of).
I slipped out about dusk to phone home at a gas station up the road, was told that I was needed earlier (that night) rather than later, but I thought to wait until the crowd at the gate thinned out a bit & the white dog in my way moved (they can do that on their own you know, as “The Spirit” moves them) for me to get out, but suddenly someone else decided to leave, and with the dog & people on the move, I took the opportunity to get my truck out & left - about an hour after dark. euby.
P.S. Had a wonderful Thanksgiving today (Friday) with 9 in attendance at my folk’s home.