Seed Camp Journal

John Tarleton, who went by the name of Wandering John at Rainbow events and had the internet handle of cybertraveler, was one of the best descriptive writers about gathering life. This Seed Camp Journal, about the 1999 Pennsylvania national gathering, was once on his personal website, http://myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler, but entering that address in December 2014 produced a blank screen. He did post all but Entry #8 to alt.gathering.rainbow, and the series has been revived here.

He made frequent day trips to the nearby town of Ridgway and posted from computers at the public library. His earlier posts were sent as e-mails to one of his friends, Dorian Winterfeld, and he forwarded them to the newsgroup, where they appeared with “dorian” as the sender. Later he started posting them directly to the group using msn.com, which was a free service like hotmail, and on those posts he was johnny appleseed.

I have gathered all of his posts and all of the comments together here into one document, converting them from web pages produced by Google Advanced Groups Search. I have made no changes or corrections to anybody’s posts, with this exception: I have shortened quoted sections, since in some cases people quoted entire posts, including quotes of quotes therein, and to reproduce all of these would make this document way too long.

– Butterfly Bill

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal: Entry #1: Welcome Home!
Date: June 11, 1999
Newsgroups: alt.gathering.rainbow

I’m told that these articles made to the newsgroup but not the mail-list (didn’t even know there was a difference) so I’m posting all nine of them again. Sorry for the redundancy. They are from Wandering John (wander...@hotmail.com). You can see his other writings at http://myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler

I traveled up here on Sunday afternoon with Ellen and Thomas from Peace Park. When we arrived at Yellow Hammer Trails, site of the Spring Council, we found only a handful of people from Jesus Camp. Spring Council had consensed earlier in the day on a site just outside Ridgway, Pennsylvania in the southeast corner of the Allegheny National Forest. Crouching over a map in the fading sunlight, Thomas and I wrote down the new directions and set off to track down our friends.

It was well after dark when when we found the Bear Creek Recreation Area outside of Ridgway. Little Hawk was the first parking attendant to stop and greet us on the gravel road going into the Gathering. He wore a brown, wide-brimmed hat and a bushy backwoodsman’s beard. His eyes were confused and searching.

“Seed Camp? Whut Seed Camp?” He replied in a raspy, slurred voice when we asked him for directions.

Then, he took his flashlight and invited us to look at the scars from the 3rd degree burns that put him in a coma for two months last year after he mistakenly tried to put out a fire at the Arizona Gathering with a 2 1/2 gallon jug of gasoline.

Thomas hopped out of the passenger seat of the van and gave this brooding, melancholy man a big hug. We then continued on into the Gathering.

It wasn’t long before we spotted campfires and were greeted with hugs. For the first time in almost 11 months, I heard a chorus in the distance sing out, “Weee Luvvv Youuuu!....”

There were roughly 20 vehicles and 75 people camped out around the perimeter of a damp, horseshoe-shaped meadow that may later serve as Bus Village. A giddy, excited feeling hung in the air as our small band found itself thrown together on the night before beginning an immense undertaking

Galloping drumbeats started up at the large camp fire at the far end of the meadow. A young man with a scar and stitchmarks running the length of his torso gazed around the meadow which was bathed in the light of an almost full moon. This is his first Gathering and he was already swept up in the excitement.

“This is nothing brother,” the man standing next to him broke in. “Just wait ‘til you see what’s comin’.”

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal:Entry #2: Walking the Site
Date: June 9, 1999

I began the day with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a slice of watermelon. And I ended it in front of a campfire listening to people reading the poetry of Rumi, the 13th Century Sufi mystic. In between, I walked all around the Gathering site.

There will be no water shortage this year. The forest is dotted with freshwater springs and main Meadow will be near the S-shaped confluence of Bear Creak and Little Otter Creek. Walking barefoot in those clear, cool streams, I could easily picture hundreds of naked hippies splashing and lounging about a month from now...There was concern expressed about rattlesnakes that may be living in some of the rockier areas of the site. However, Greenlight has promised to spend a night sleeping with the snakes to see if there is any actual danger.

Main Circle will be located in the middle of an enormous meadow. You first see the meadow at a distance while walking in on the trail above Little Otter Creek. It’s a breathtaking sight. And it’s at that moment you will understand why you journey so far to be here.

Ancient mountain ridges rise in the distance and the meadow itself tilts gently into a bog that lies at one end. The meadow is sprinkled with shrub-like serviceberry trees and white plastic tubes that contain dead fruit trees planted by the Forest Service. Twenty of us wandered through the meadow looking for the central energy point. A silver-bearded hippie from Woodstock groundscored a turkey feather and a sister quickly clasped it to a stick she had just found. The stick was planted in the ground and we held the first of what will be many Ohm Circles at that spot. The feather will later be used in council meetings. Who would imagine that an object of such humble origins will soon become the focal point of so many clashing egos?

Later, I went searching for more freshwater springs with Michael, one of the Pennsylvania scouts. Scouting is about searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack. It is demanding work and Michael has been doing it every weekend since April.

We followed Pole Road Creek going away from Main Meadow. I sneezed and heard the sound echo up the long, narrow valley. There was a crashing sound and we caught a glimpse of a white tail deer bounding through the woody thicket. Though this site is water rich, possible springs are being tested (at $36 a pop) for excessive concentrations of iron and sulphur. Michael examined the wavy lines on his topo map and the contour of the land around us. Miles of pvc pipe will be laid in the coming weeks. Kitchens will pop up wherever there is a steady water supply. And, it all begins when a keen-eyed scout spots a trickle of water gurgling up through the soil.

jennifer a isenberg
Subject: From: Seed Camp Journal:Entry #2: Walking the Site
Date: June , 1999

reading these is making me so anxious everything sounds like it’s going to be so beautiful, please pray that i’ll be able to get out of this place with in the next two weeks, i can’t wait to see everyone when i get home one love fairy

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From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal: Entry #3: A Rainy Day at Seed Camp
Date: June 9, 1999

It has been raining sporadically since the middle of the night and a languid, unhurried mood has settled over Seed Camp.

The rains will replenish the springs and turn Main Meadow into a mud bog. It’s a good time to drift into ridgway, Babylon’s last outpost. Or, to just hang out under blue tarps and talk for hours with people you didn’t know when you woke up in the morning; a teen-age runaway from Springfield, Missouri who talks about her first trip to New York City, or an old road dog who can tell you the latest food stamp scams or which breed of dog to use when panhandling on a street corner with cardboard sign in hand.

As for ridgway, it is starting to discover the Family. The grown-ups are holding meetings in order to prepare for “Hurricane Rainbow” while their children visit our small gypsy camp with increasing frequency.

A group of teen-agers, including four pretty young sisters, came up last night to check out the “big party in the woods”. I stood around a small campfire and listened to a short, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl talk about her ancestry. She was wearing loose-hanging trousers and a red, white and blue bikini top and mentioned that she was actually part Indian. Tomorrow is the final day of classes at Ridgway High. It promises to be an interesting summer for the local youth.

Uncle Bill spotted some Forest Service LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) when he was in town this morning. Now that we’ve picked a site, the Incident Command team (ICT) must be on its way. We’ll have a council with the local District Ranger 8 a.m tomorrow. Then, we’ll startto get an idea of what sort of relationship we’ll have with the Forest Service this year.

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #4: Leon Blashock Receives a Rainbow Name
Date: June 9, 1999

District Ranger Leon Blashock came to his first Rainbow Family Council this morning. And he left with a rainbow name, “Gentle Bear”.

A large, easygoing man with graying-blond hair, Leon re-assured us that he wanted to work with the Family.

“I want you to know hat I totally support your right to gather,” he said. Then he added, “it would be a lot easier if I had a signed permit.”

Leon, like all district rangers is a natural resources man. His job is to facilitate the “multiple-use” of the Ridgway District of the Allegheny National Forest, of which he is in charge. By inclination, he is a public servant who wants the 20,000 plus people who are coming to the Gathering to have a pleasant and enjoyable experience.

However, he also has to listen to the demands of the Washington, D.C.-based law enforcement bureaucracy inside of the Forest Service. The Incident Command Post will be based out of Sheffield. And, he tried to assure us that LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) like Bill Fox and John Carpenter were also coming here to make the Gathering a positive experience for everyone.

So, imagine the dejected look on Leon’s face when Joannie Freedom, T.C. and others reiterated that Rainbow has no leaders and that the first Amendment is the only permit we will ever need to hold these Gatherings. He was the bureaucrat who found himself trapped in the middle of something that he neither had started nor could resolve.

As everybody was eager to have a constructive meeting, we agreed to disagree on the question of the permit. We then pressed him to unlock the gates to Forest Service roads 161, 168 and 393 with an eye toward letting us use them for Main Supply, Welcome Home and Bus village respectively.

These roads are normally closed off to vehicles. Leon wondered aloud what locals would say about his giving special treatment to the Rainbows. The council reminded him that 20,000 people were on the way. And if the gates remained locked, there would be massive traffic congestion all over the area during the 4th of July weekend.

He finally agreed to unlock the gates for the day so that some people could go scouting further into the forest.

“But, I’m not making any long-term promises for now,” he said. “I’ve got to think about this.”

As the meeting was winding down, Ruthie asked Leon if he had a Rainbow name. “No, he replied. “I just use my given name.”

Greenlight stroked his long, gray beard and suggested “Gentle Bear” since he was kind and gentle and big like a bear. Leon/Gentle Bear smiled and agreed to that name. He seemed happy about it.

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #5: Local Media Coverage
Date: June 11, 1999

The Forest Service disinformation machine is running at full speed and we are getting rapped in the local press.

The Incident Command Team swooped into town this week and held a public meeting in Ridgway on Tuesday (June 1) in which they darkly hinted at the menacing blob of scruffy, unwashed humanity that was fast approaching this fair community. And, The Ridgway record ran front page articles (“Forest service gives update on Rainbow gathering” and “Cooperation key to managing Rainbow gathering”) the next two days.

In both articles, U.S. Forest Service Special Agent Bill Fox was quoted extensively. The only other source quoted was Forest Service information specialist Dale Dunshie. No Rainbows were contacted.

In the first article, Fox explained how the Rainbow Gatherings began in Colorado in 1972 as a prayer for peace. And he admitted, “a lot of Rainbows are very good folks,” though “some of them are a little odd.”

He then went on to explain that the harmless hippies of yesteryear had given way to a “younger, tougher element”.

“That’s where we tend to have the problems. We’ve seen a little bit more gang activity, we’ve seen a little more anti-government, more people prone to be anti-law enforcement, anti-authority.”

Fox was at it again in the next day’s article. “Significant drug activity occurs, there’s a criminal element that inserts itself in that group, Fox said, adding that a number of Rainbows have told him over the years that because of a new, tougher element that’s part of the Rainbow family, they are losing control of the gathering.”

Fox then explained that Ridgway could expect to see “dumpster diving, shoplifting, possible burglaries and thefts” and “an overall increase in people milling around.”

The reporter’s conclusion: “It boils down to this:with such a mass of humanity converging on the ANF, the Forest Service advised local folks to be ready for anything.”

I went to the Ridgway Library this afternoon to cull some Rainbow- friendly information off the World Wide Web. It seemed like time for an Unofficial Rainbow Press Packet. I printed out the front page of the Unofficial Rainbow Home Page, excerpts and reviews of Michael Niman’s “People of the Rainbow” plus a photo essay I did on last year’s Gathering. I put these in a glossy, $1.09 folder I bought at he Rite-Aid Pharmacy along with a copy of last year’s “All Ways Free”, some leaflets from the Ocala Defense Fund and some other helpful URLs.

Bekki Guilyard is warm, friendly and intelligent. She is also the reporter who wrote this week’s introductory articles to the Gathering. Her paper relies heavily on bureaucratic sources (“Warden recognizes correctional officer”, “Commissioners adopt revised comprehensive plan” and “Three projects OK’d by heritage council”) for its stories.

I found her hard at work in the far back corner of the Ridgway Record newsroom. She smiled and saluted me with arms raised in front of her and asked if I was one of the official Rainbow leaders. I assured her for the first of several times that I was ABSOLUTELY NOT a leader or spokesperson for anyone but myself.

I handed her the folder full of goodies and her eyes brightened. To her credit, she had already found the Unofficial Rainbow Home Page and was working on a more balanced story. She was surprised to learn that the Rainbows are camped only a few miles outside of town. Bill Fox had neglected to tell her that at his public briefing.

I talked a little bit about how the Forest Service had a well- rehearsed gameplan for framing media coverage around a law enforcement theme when the real story was to be found inside the Gathering. She agreed and lamented that she hadn’t had access to more access on the Rainbow Family in recent weeks as it was known to be somewhere in the ANF. I invited her to come out to our camp in the woods. And she said that she would try to get out early next week.

From: mamat...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #5: Local Media Coverage
Date: June 11, 1999

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From: mac...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #5: Local Media Coverage
Date: June 15, 1999

In article <M1883.2568$UK2....@news.rdc1.md.home.com>, “Dorian Winterfeld” <dor...@greenbelt.com> wrote:

You have mail at both of the above addresses. I’m sure that your goal is not just entertainment, but those journal entries make great reading!

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From: mamat...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #5: Local Media Coverage
Date: June 16, 1999

> I’m sure that your goal is not just entertainment, but those journal entries make great reading!

i’m curious to know whether this newspaper person who received all your careful info ever did come out to see for herself, and if so did she try to present a truthful account of what was being done by the incident creators?

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Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #6: Negotiating with the Forest Service
Date: June 11, 1999

District Ranger Leon “Gentle Bear” Blashock attended council again this morning to discuss Seed Camp logistics. More people were present than two days ago and they chimed in repeatedly with their observations and comments. There was a sense of impatience about when several gated roads would be opened so that we could advance into the site and begin Seed Camp in earnest.

Recent negative articles about the Gathering in the Ridgway Record poisoned the atmosphere to some extent. Leon wasn’t quoted in either story. However, the pieces were generated by Forest Service colleagues assigned to the Incident Command Team. And, Leon was tarnished by the association.

“My relationship to you all is different than that of the law enforcement people,” he said, trying to re-assure us at the outset of the meeting. “And I want to keep it that way.”

When Leon departed on Wednesday morning (June 2), we thought we had an agreement that he would at least temporarily open the gates to Forest Service Roads 161 (parking), 168 (Welcome Home/shuttle drop-off point) and 393 (bus village) to facilitate speedier scouting. Two days later, all three gates remained locked.

Leon explained that there had been a misunderstanding due to what he said were his “poor communication skills”. Eyes began to roll. Is Leon a cautious steward of the land proceeding slowly, step-by-by step to make sure that the forest won’t be trampled by hordes of hippies? Or is he delaying and taking the family for a ride? We wanted to believe the former. But past history made us wary.

Leon announced that as soon as the meeting ended he would open up FS 161 and that it was very likely he would open FS 168 in the near future as our stated intention was to use it only as a trailhead. As for FS 393, he had serious reservations.

Gated Forest Service roads tend to be more poorly constructed, Leon said. And while exploring FS 393 yesterday in his Ford Bronco, he discovered that he had carved some deep ruts in the road. How, he asked, could we hope to bring in hundreds of busses and campers over the next month?

It was then explained that the family only wished to use certain parts of FS 393, which preceded the area where the ruts had occurred. Leon was doubtful but he agreed to walk the site with an engineer and one of the Rainbow scouts.

Situated a few feet outside the circle, T.C. herded the meeting like an impatient sheepdog. He was as annoyed with the scattered hippie energy as he was with Leon’s unclear promises. T.C. has thick, graying dredlocks and he would alternately sit on a stump or pace around with a burning nub of a cigarette in hand. Throughout the meeting he would say things like, “Leon, I’ve got a problem”, or “Leon, we’ve gotta talk about something”.

A taut silence would hold for a second as T.C. leaned forward. And then zing! he would release his question or comment and it would always land dead-on target. T.C. was insistent and demanding. He teetered on the brink of being rude but never crossed it. It was effective. If Leon had any intention of backsliding or leaving things in a bureaucratic muddle, T.C. was blocking it.

Leon said that he would summon an engineer as soon as he could. And, he would keep us posted. Because it’s Friday, it was important that the weekend not become another excuse for inaction. There was more bantering back and forth. Finally, Leon said that he would let us know by late in the afternoon whether or not he would have an engineer lined up for the following day.

That was OK by us. And after Leon left, we briefly counciled and discussed whether or not we should move camp over to FS 161. There wasn’t much enthusiasm for the idea. Warm, blue skies returned this morning after three days of rain. And, the majority is content to stay a little while longer here at the campground off of FS 129, where there’s a public outhouse stocked with toilet paper, a creek to splash around in and a kitchen that occasionally feeds people.

A-Camp is just down the road. They are a magnet for locals who want to party. They make a lot of noise at night. But, they haven’t been disruptive enough to scare people away

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From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #7:Katuah Kitchen Arrives; Leon Delivers on His Promises
Date: June 11, 1999

The first pieces of the Katuah Kitchen arrived on-site today. Uncle Bill, Trucker Bob, Paisley and myself hiked in from the top of FS 168. We pulled a cart piled high with blue tarps and rope, a large fry pan, a propane tank, a coffee pot (and grounds), a french fry maker, two enormous bottles of ketchup and more.

We followed the winding, descending path for 1.5 miles, stopping several times to use a bow saw to clear fallen logs out of the trail. The forest was quiet and a few pieces of colored tape and some colored feathers were the only signs of any recent human presence.

“I sure am glad to be in the forest and out of that parking lot,” Paisley said in his slow Southern drawl.

The scene at the Bear Creek campground off of FS 129 has been getting louder, noisier and more crowded. More and more locals have been coming by to mingle with A-Camp, which is nearby. OtherRainbows who are serious about doing Seed Camp work are moving over to FS 161 where a 4 foot-wide trail from the Back Gate to Main Circle is being bushwhacked open.

We didn’t see any people until we ran into District Ranger Leon “Gentle Bear” Blashock and two Forest Service engineers.

Leon recruited a team of five experts (a hydrologist, a wildlife biologist, an archaeologist and two engineers) on short notice to help him prepare for the coming onslaught of people. He introduced each one of them to us at a council meeting earlier this morning. All five men are professionals who care deeply about the land and they were eager (despite it being a Saturday morning) to work with the Rainbows. Our previous concerns that Len was procrastinating seemed unjustified.

Back on the trail into the Gathering, we consulted Leon and the two engineers about the best place to put the kitchen. Paisley and Uncle Bill had flagged a good spring the day before, which was up the hill from Little Otter Creek. We wanted to park the kitchen in the same area, about a half-mile from Main Circle. Leon and the engineers scanned their maps and then gave their blessing.

The Katuah Family (based in the Smokey Mts. of northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, the western Carolinas and southwestern Virginia) is planning on doing a large-scale kitchen this year in conjunction with the Piedmont Family, the Atlanta Family and Camp Zipolite. The plan is to do massive amounts of french fries by day and doughnuts by night. Food will be served at the bliss pit out front. And, wrestling matches will be provided for entertainment.

“It’s a great sport. Probably the oldest known to man,” Paisley said. “When there’s 20,000 people here, I think a lot of people will be wrestling and a lot more people will be watching.”

Now, there’s a purple and white hammock strung up between two black cherry trees and a pile of kitchen equipment lying in a shady clearing full of ferns. A hunter’s distant gunshots died out at dusk. Only the trickling of a nearby stream can be heard in the forest night. Tomorrow begins the work of building a kitchen from scratch.

From: dorian
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #9: Many Ways to Dig a Shitter
Date: June 11, 1999

I dug my first gray water pit of the Gathering today. The earth is soft and yielding here on these old mountain ridges. But, there are big rocks to be dislodged on the way down. I worked with a brother named Bliss and we slowly opened up the earth with a broken, $10 shovel and a post hole digger. From far up the hill, we could hear the drumming down below at Ananda (Bliss Consciousness) Kitchen.

It was good to have a shovel in hand. After a slow start to Seed Camp, we were finally swinging into action. Bliss and I thought we were working on a shitter (or, “slit-trench” as the Forest Service officially calls it) when Vinnie arrived to tell us that the long trench was actually going to be a gray water pit. Vinnie is an idealistic, hard-working brother who came to Spring Council when he read on the Internet that no kitchen was expected to be there. And, he has new ideas about shitter digging.

The classic Rainbow shitters (both the long slit trenches and the deep, square holes with a box and a toilet seat on top), Vinnie says, are not only breeders of disease-carrying flies but take as long as 12 years to decompose. If people would dig small, vertical holes straight into the ground, he says, things wouldn’t be so nasty and decomposition would finish in only 3 years.

Small, eco-friendly shitters, or large shitters for the masses who will pour in during the week leading up to the 4th of July? I think the latter is more realistic. But, Vinnie has a novel idea. The science of shitter digging is probably far from being perfected.

Anyhow, the shitter-turned-gray water pit was finished and we returned to the kitchen. Looking around, I saw people busy doing various things. Hauling buckets of water, chopping veggies, cleaning their cups at the wash station, lazing around in the shade making music and waiting for a big pot of beans on the grill to finish cooking. It’s starting to feel like a Gathering.

From: Citronella
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #9: Many Ways to Dig a Shitter
Date: June 11, 1999

Thank you for posting these accounts of how things are progressing at the gathering!

From: jenni
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #9: Many Ways to Dig a Shitter
Date: June 12, 1999

Thanks for reposting these to the email side, they’ve been very informative. Getting the feeling that we’re almost home!

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #10: More Negotiations with the Forest Service
Date: June 14, 1999

The Rainbow Family and the US Forest Service ironed out operating plans today for both the annual Gathering of the Tribes and the subsequent clean-up.

The meeting between the Rainbow Family council (which consists of whoever shows up) and District Rangers Leon “Gentle Bear” Blashock and John “Working Horse” Schultz took place in the shade behind the Welcome Home information station on FS 161 leading into the Gathering. Cars occasionally drove by kicking up dust. A sister whose lower lip was swollen from a spider bite came by looking for medication. And, rice and veggies were being served in the smokey kitchen across the way.

There was a mutual determination to craft the clearest, most precise documents possible. And after four hours of negotiating line-by-line through the two documents, agreement was reached that was satisfactory to both the Forest Service and the world’s largest non-organization. The give-and-take and the straightforward communication between the Rainbows and the district rangers belied the claims of Forest Service LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) that a special signed permit is needed to manage these Gatherings.

Most of the meeting was spent combing the operating plans for objectionable language. Many people were concerned about misunderstandings that marred clean-up at last year’s Gathering in Arizona. Likewise, they were sensitive about any wording that implied that the Rainbow Family was an organization. There was a torrent of complaints and suggestions for rewording almost every line of the two agreements.

“Can you make that ‘should’ not ‘will’?” One person asked...”I have another question on Paragraph 4,” someone else said...” ‘Improvements’. Let’s make that ‘pre-existing improvements’”...I like the word ‘necessary’ to be thrown in there...”Can we agree to ‘may be agreed to be necessary’?”...”Wait, I have a problem when you say ‘members’.That implies that the Rainbow Family is an organization”...

“You guys are worse than we are in management meetings,” John Schultz joked, when another round of haggling began.

The operating plan covered 23 objectives ranging from shitter digging to firewood gathering to parking to protecting fragile riparian areas, etc. Most of the objectives listed (“No green timber will be cut”, “stream crossings will be kept to a minimum”, “no bathing or the use of soaps, detergents or cleansers in the streams”) are in accord with traditional Rainbow practices. At the Rainbows’ insistence, a plea for “No Guns in the Church” was inserted into the operating plan, though both district rangers emphasized that there was zero chance that the LEO’s would abandon their sidearms.

The parking situation, right now, is still murky. The LEO’s have begun issuing arbitrary and contradictory commands about where gatherers can and cannot park and whether or not the Family can set up gates into their own Gathering. For this and many other reason, it was important for Leon to hash out these agreements so that he would have something clear and solid to carry back to the Incident Command Team (“Incident Creation Team”?) based in Sheffield.

“We’re not on the same page yet,” Leon said of his Forest Service colleagues. “But we will be.”

As for the rehabilitation plan, it outlines how the site will be dismantled and disappeared in the weeks after the Gathering ends. It even includes how many lbs. of rye grass seed per acre will be used to reseed trails.

“Alls that I’m asking is that the Rainbows fix up what they damage,” Leon said as the meeting finally concluded.

For more Rainbow-related stuff see:
http://www.myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler/arizona.html
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From: Royce
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #10: More Negotiations with the Forest Service
Date: June 20, 1999

From: Karin Zirk
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #10: More Negotiations with the Forest Service
Date: June 20, 1999

Just a reminder folks, if you want to find old postings, go to http://www.dejanews.com - select Power Search and then you can search this newsgroup for any date range, topic, etc.

Directons to the Rainbow Gathering in Pennsylvania are available at http://home.earthlink.net/~kzirk/scroll/Minutes/howdyfolks.html

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #11: Lean Times at Seed Camp
Date: June 16, 1999

G-Funk is in the house. And Everybody’s Lovin’Ovens is up the creek (or “crick” as the locals say it) going toward Jesus Camp.

More and more kitchens are arriving and not a moment too soon. Food has been sparse with only a couple of kitchens (Ananda and Chico’s Southern Yin-Yang) regularly producing meals. Increasingly large numbers of Rainbows have been spotted foraging outside their native forest habitat.

Hunger is a ravenous, gnawing experience. It tags along with you on the foot paths (“hey brother...”) and over the makeshift bridges and up and down these old Pennsylvania hills. It can sharpen the senses, or it can leave you listless and lying around the edge of a kitchen hoping to catch a morsel of food. It fills the mind with vivid almost sensuous dreams of peanut butter, crumbly store bread and saltine crackers. There are two kinds of people during early Seed Camp: those who have a stash and those who don’t.

And this will all pass in a few days. Popcorn Palace/It’s a Beautiful Day Cafe is setting up just down the trail from Southern Yin-Yang. Ghetto and Raven’s Nest are on the hill up from the railroad trestle that overlooks Bear Creek. Rainbow Crystal Kitchen is here, too. Felipe and the Kid Village crew limped into town this morning in their ancient baby blue school bus.

It’s been an unusually sluggish Seed Camp. Perhaps it’s the muggy heat and the sprawling immensity of this site. Or, maybe we started a week too early. However, the Gathering is about to make a quantum leap in size and complexity. It’s amazing to watch and contribute to.

I helped Granola Funk Express bring its stuff down the Supply Trail on Saturday. They are setting up on the Blue Trail along Bear Creek about 10 minutes from what is currently Main Meadow. The Funksters’ plans, as usual, are ambitious. They plan to build a kitchen, a two-story tree house, a theatre, a Venetian bathhouse (with toga parties), and a “laundromat” where you can beat your clothes on a rock. They are hoping that 300 people a day will stop and plug in for a few hours at a time in a non-stop, all-out kitchen.

“This is a chance for the people in our kitchen to do a really awesome kitchen,” one of the early arrivals said. “And our number one goal is good sanitation. That means people in the kitchen not only have clean hands but clean bodies, clean clothes, clean under the fingernails, everything.” And in a moment of reflection he added, “The Funk is a spaceship. It takes up space. It’s just not moving.”

Forest Service LEO’s (Law Enforcement Officers) dropped off Smoky Bear pins and comic books (“The True Story of Smoky Bear”) yesterday at Southern Yin-Yang Kitchen; a half-hearted attempt at “winning the hearts and minds” of the people. The comic book tells the story of a bear cub who miraculously survived a forest fire in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest sometime in the 1950s and went on to become a national icon.

Meanwhile, the Forest Service LEO’s and the Pennsylvania State Police are stepping up their patrols on all roads around the Gathering.

“I’ve never seen so many cops in town in my whole life!” said a local woman who gave me a lift into town.

Be especially careful when leaving local roads (speed limit: 35 m.p.h.) for Forest Service roads where white Ford Broncos with a single green stripe lie in wait to enforce unposted speeding laws.

What else?...I saw a young porcupine this morning. It slowly waddled across the trail in front of me; dark black and furry with pointed quills and a flat, beaver’s tale. It disappeared into the high green ferns for a moment and then shimmied up a small tree, hugging the trunk like a koala bear...

Main Meadow/Main Marsh continues to be a source of contention. Part of it is a fragile riparian area that lies beneath all our camps and kitchens. Sometimes I say to myself, “What a mess!” when I think of this site. Yet, when I drift down to the lower end of the Meadow for a 9 o’clock sunset it all seems more beautiful than I had previously imagined. Fluorescent green fireflies flicker through the cool, twilight air while the stars come out overhead. A handful of drummers - none paying attention to the others - bang away at a freshly dug boogy pit while the frogs serenade the heavens from their marshy home.

Young bullfrogs diligently practice their mating calls and then they are drowned out by the long, low croaking sound of an elder.

P.S. Ever wondered what day-to-day life is really like for the people of Chiapas? See http://www.myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler/chiapas.html

P.P.S. We’re behind on digging shitters. If you can get your hands on extra spades and picks, please drop them off at NERF Kitchen. I’ll be around. We need to centralize a critical mass of tools in one place so that we can hold brief morning work councils there and then fan out in teams around the site and get a lot of work done. We waste far too much time when well- intentioned people have to go from kitchen to kitchen trying to bum a shovel here and a pick there. And kitchens are understandably nervous about loaning out there last tools to strangers who may never return. Let’s see if we can find a better way.

P.P.P.S. On a different note, does anybody out there have one of those large glass jars that people normally use to squirrel away large collections of pennies?...I have something special in mind for it if you do. Please write.

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From: bar...@voicenent.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #11: Lean Times at Seed Camp
Date: June 17, 1999

> What else?...I saw a young porcupine this morning. It slowly waddled across the trail in front of me; dark black and furry with pointed quills and a flat, beaver’s tale. It disappeared into the high green ferns for a moment and then shimmied up a small tree, hugging the trunk like a koala bear...

It’s in those brief moments by the meadow, by the marsh, when darkness falls, that the Earth comes to life, and you begin to see that the Earth is alive, one cosmic being under Heaven and God, a gracious and generous host to all other living beings. Go there often, be silent, be patient, stop and listen, and you will become one with God and nature.

Spread the word of your discovery, welcome others as disciples of that desolute but beautiful spot on Earth, at the end of the road, at the end of civilization, where time was never defined.

From: rav...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #11: Lean Times at Seed Camp
Date: June 17, 1999

Bless you folks for providing these journal entries. I so look forward to them. This is so much better that Coronation Street or any of the other soaps. I have been fasinated by the procedings, and the characters. I feel like I’m there...I just got a job (bummer) and might not be able to make it, so this discussion board is my only link.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

From: mamat...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #11: Lean Times at Seed Camp
Date: June 17, 1999

> Bless you folks for providing these journal entries. I so look forward to them.

i second that thanks, so glad for these entries, but oh my the conflicting feelings that arise... for one reason and another, it is most unlikely i’ll be able to get home (and a very most wonderful and special gathering it seems to be becoming) and the journal gives me a sense of belonging but at the same time makes me so sad to probably be missing it and much less resigned to my “home-less” state (sigh) keep it coming tho-- i’m sure i’m not the only one who’d miss those entries...

From: boomb...@aol.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #11: Lean Times at Seed Camp
Date: June 18, 1999

> P.P.P.S. On a different note, does anybody out there have one of those large glass jars that people normally use to squirrel away large collections of pennies?...I have something special in mind for it if you do. Please write.

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #12: Main Meadow Moves Up the Ridge
Date: June 19, 1999

The Rainbow Family council consensed today to move Main Meadow up the ridge to a larger, drier meadow known as Eagles Roost. In recent days more and more of the site originally designated as Main Meadow was cordoned off due to its fragile, riparian nature. Awareness was growing that it couldn’t host 20,000 people at the height of the Gathering.

“The water is sacred,” Felipe pointed out at yesterday’s council. “If we desecrate it, what kind of message are we sending?”

Scouts fanned out this morning to investigate several promising sites, two of which were located far from the center of the Gathering. It was crucial to make a decision ASAP. Word went out that things would be decided once and for all at today’s 4:20 council.

The council was unusually focused from the first moment. Roughly 40 people were present and the feather journeyed around the circle once. Ideas and impressions were shared. People listened closely to the scouts’ reports. At a crucial moment, the council process was working. We were thinking together.

The three new meadows were considered. The “daisy meadow” up by Bus Village was quickly rejected because it is too close to A-Camp and because it’s not that much bigger than the present meadow.

“It’s inconceivable that we would make a major shift in the Gathering to a meadow that’s only a little bit better,” said Guitar Bob.

The other choices were 1.) a small meadow located just down the way from the current one, or 2.) Eagles Roost, an open meadow, several football fields large, located at the far, southern end of the Gathering. It is covered in debris from a clear cut and, at this time, it lacks a water supply.

“If we can’t do it down here,” one sister said, “then I think we should do it up there.”

“I’ll feel a lot better if we gank this Gathering up the ridge,” another sister said.

“It’s a Hobson’s Choice,” said one of the scouts who looked over the two meadows. “There aren’t really any good choices.”

But, others felt it was essential to keep Main Circle at the center of the Gathering.

“I’m feeling that the center of all our energy is down in here,” said one brother. “I don’t think being down in this (other) meadow will do irreparable damage.”

A representative from Granola Funk also spoke in favor of using the other, nearby meadow. G-Funk, Millieways and Sun Dog had already set up their kitchens along Bear Creek to be near Main Circle. They would be the victims of a solution to a problem that they didn’t create.

Then, a young, blonde-haired woman with sparkling blue eyes spoke. “This is a delicate area,” she said. “And I’m feeling protective of it. This is a quiet valley. It’s essence is Yin. When we want to connect with the Yang side of ourselves and play and be loud and explode, we should go to a place that can support that.”

Her words were soft but firm. This was the turning point of the meeting. The feather was halfway around the circle and everyone else who spoke afterwards expressed support for going up the ridge.

“If we have to be inconvenienced and haul things uphill,” someone said, “I don’t see why with 30,000 people coming here, we can’t do that.”

“We are the custodians of the land,” a brother said. “We belong to the Earth. It doesn’t belong to us.”

After 90 minutes of discussion, the feather arrived back at where it started. A call was made for consensus by silence to move Main Meadow up the ridge to the meadow known as Eagles Roost. A late-arriving brother blocked to ask a point of information. People groaned and there were shouts to try again. Someone asked how long the silence had to be.

People inhaled and waited, slowly counting the seconds in their heads. There was only stillness. We were reaching for the most elusive of Rainbow moments: collective clarity of mind. The silence remained unbroken. And people slowly began to exhale great sighs of relief. We had a new Main Meadow.

For more Rainbow-related stuff, see:
http://>?>www.myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler/arizona.html

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From: carla
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #12: Main Meadow Moves Up the Ridge
Date: June 19, 1999

> The Rainbow Family council consensed today to move Main Meadow up the ridge to a larger, drier meadow known as Eagles Roost. In recent days more and more of the site originally designated as Main Meadow was cordoned off due to its fragile, riparian nature. Awareness was growing that it couldn’t host 20,000 people at the height of the Gathering.

Thank you so much for your seed camp journal offerings. They are a joy to read. Much love and support to you and all who are on the land preparing for family to come Home.

I just have to make a comment from the Peanut Gallery. Even though the main meadow issue has been decided “once and for all,” if it comes up again (as these things tend to do), I have a suggestion for council consideration: returning to the old site at Heart’s Content. (I heard that only one person blocked going back there this year, perhaps for reasons that may be “political” and are no longer current, as he has not played with the family for a long time). Maybe someone should go look at the site and see if it would serve the purpose of the gathering more appropriately. Can’t be done, you say? We have moved entire camps before.

From: michae...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #12: Main Meadow Moves Up the Ridge
Date: June 20, 1999

In article <19990619185445.19214.qmail.alt.gathering.rainbow@hotmail.com>, gath...@cygnus.com wrote:

> People inhaled and waited, slowly counting the seconds in their heads. There was only stillness. We were reaching for the most elusive of Rainbow moments: collective clarity of mind. The silence remained unbroken. And people slowly began to exhale great sighs of relief. We had a new Main Meadow.

Your inspiring words have touched us and we are even more excited to join you soon. Keep those cards and letters coming. And how are you connecting anyways?

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
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From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #13, Ridgway Holds a Town Meeting, Part 1
Date: June 28, 1999

I’ve tried to send this story twice in the past week but it has disappeared in the system both times. Am gonna split it in two parts and see what happens. Thank you for your patience.

Drugs, deer, and indecency were on peoples’ minds at last night’s town meeting in Ridgway as several hundred area residents came out to listen to the Forest Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Rainbow Family exchange their impressions on how the upcoming Gathering will impact the local area.

The Ridgway Fire Hall was packed when 15 of us arrived a half-hour late in Bam-Bam’s van. The air in the room was tense and charged and Garrick Beck, one of the original Rainbows, was at the mike.

The locals sat close together at long tables that extended to the back of the room. Most of them were over 50 years-old. There faces were scrunched tight with concern. We faded back against one of the side walls. The locals have heard all about us. Now we were going to hear from them.

“Just how much bigger will A-Camp get?” One woman asked. “There’s only 400 of you here and they are already causing lots of trouble.”

“I’ve heard all kinds of stories about our children going up to your camp and getting drugs,” said a concerned mom who walked right up to where Garrick was standing. “What I want to know is, would your security people (Shanti Sena) arrest a Rainbow who was caught selling or trading drugs.”

Articulate, reasonable and well-organized, Garrick looked nothing like the stereotypical, dumpster-diving Rainbow. He wore pressed white trousers, a button-down shirt with blue and white vertical stripes, a faded ballcap and a gray ponytail. He was unfazed by the simmering animosity in the room. And he answered each question adroitly, like a man who had been on stage his whole life.

Regarding A-Camp, Garrick noted that we are a microcosm of society and that alcoholism is a pervasive social problem that Rainbow can’t hope to solve by itself. As for drugs, he lamented “the problem of drug abuse” in society. The buying and selling of anything is strongly discouraged at the Gatherings, he said. Garrick also noted that he had heard of at least three accounts of locals coming up to the gathering to sell drugs to the rainbows. Then, agile as a cat, Garrick hopped back on-message.

“80% of the people who come to these Gatherings are in the workforce,” he said. “We may have tie-dyes and paisleys on. But in reality, we’re just like you. We have doctors and lawyers and people who work the grill at Taco Bell. There are teachers and nurses and carpenters and linoleum layers and people from every walk of life. We are a microcosm of society.”

Raven from Ghetto Kitchen then spoke about how good hygiene is emphasized at Rainbow Gatherings. And, Jane Light Warrior of C.A.L.M. (Center for Alternative Living Medicine) talked about the Family’s health care system.

She explained how the Gathering will be home for a week to the world’s most diverse collection of natural healers. Rainbow healers, she assured the locals, try to avoid things like ambulance calls and prescription drugs in order to diagnose and treat the cause not the symptoms of a person’s suffering. Witty and animated, Jane was only at a loss for words only once.

A woman from an area hospital asked Jane what she would do to guarantee the safety of her staff and equipment if they received an EMR call to enter the Gathering. Jane went off at length about one thing and then another, detailing C.A.L.M.’s methods and its successes and how it is working with local authorities. The woman still wasn’t satisfied. Only at long last did Jane understand (“Ohhh...I get it!”) what she was getting at: would we steal her ambulance?

________________________________________________
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From: John Petillo
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #13, Ridgway Holds a Town Meeting, Part 1
Date: June 28, 1999

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #13, Part II: Ridgway Holds a Town Meeting
Date: June 28, 1999

This is the second part of Seed Camp Journal Entry #13. I tried to send it twice last week and it was munched by the computers both times. Thank you for your patience.

There’s a powerful undercurrent of local hostility against the Forest Service because of its control over local land and resources. It exercises an almost parental supervision of peoples’ activities in these woods.

All logging, the area’s major industry, has been suspended since April 1 while biologists study the condition of the endangered Indiana bat. Permits must be acquired for all hunting and fishing. And hunters have to walk long distances in and (more importantly) out of the forest because the gates are normally locked. It makes for an explosive brew of resentments.

The meeting, by its nature, seemed to attract people who had a grievance to air. Garrick and the others shrewdly stepped aside to let the Forest Service and the State Police take the floor for much of the rest of the evening.

“My 11 year-old son was the victim of indecent exposure,” said an irate father. “He was at the Gathering last weekend when two people in A- Camp had sex in their car right in front of him! I reported this and you all (the State Police) still haven’t done anything. If I hunt deer without a permit, I’m busted! If I spit on the sidewalk, I’m busted! But these people do anything they want and you just tolerate it!”

“So am I going to have to walk all the way in from the top of the road when I go hunting this winter? Or, are you going to open the gates for me like you did the Rainbows?”

“How much money is being spent by you all (the Forest Service) at this Gathering to permit these two weeks of freedom for people who won’t even clean up after themselves?”

“Because of the Indiana bat, we can’t cut down wood in the forest. But you let the Rainbows do whatever they want without any permits.”

“I’ve heard that the Rainbows are unclean and that they walk barefoot into the grocery stores. Why can’t they put their shoes on?”

Some of the locals were embarrassed and indignant about their neighbor’s spitefulness. And, they too stood and spoke.

“I live right by one of the two grocery stores in town,” one lady said. “And all the rainbows I’ve seen were clean and had their shoes on. Just because they look a little different doesn’t mean they aren’t people like everyone else.”

The meeting wound down at 9 p.m. and we chatted in the hallway with locals (including the fire chief who fondly recalled being at Woodstock) for another half hour before drifting over to a Uni-Mart convenience store to have some surprisingly good pizza. It was a cool, damp night and even the most hardened Rainbow had to come in from the cold and have a taste of Babylon.

We crowded into a couple of bright yellow tables that looked out on the barren gas station parking lot. A couple of old men sat quietly at the other table behind us. Garrick kept repeating an Einstein joke that no one got. Several people fell into discussing the idea of having preferences for good over bad vs. simply living in the Eternal Now. David English passed the hat and then went to place an order. The camaraderie and fellowship that was shared would make the pizzas taste that much better.

I slid out of my seat and turned to talk with the two old men. One had a light olive complexion with a long Roman nose. The other wore bib overalls and had the innocent, twinkling eyes of a small child and a roundish, moon-shaped face.

They had survived the Depression and the War and they were content to live out their lives in these old hills. They said times had never been better. The one with the long nose said he never ventured more than 30 miles from home because he had a terrible sense of direction. They sipped their coffee and said they weren’t worried at all about the Gathering.

For more news, features, short stories, interviews and book reviews,
see On the Road with John Tarleton at
http://www.myhouse.com/pub/cybertraveler

________________________________________________
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From: willowbear
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #13, Part II: Ridgway Holds a Town Meeting
Date: June 29, 1999

> I slid out of my seat and turned to talk with the two old men. One had a light olive complexion with a long Roman nose. The other wore bib overalls and had the innocent, twinkling eyes of a small child and a roundish, moon-shaped face.
> They had survived the Depression and the War and they were content to live out their lives in these old hills. They said times had never been better. The one with the long nose said he never ventured more than 30 miles from home because he had a terrible sense of direction. They sipped their coffee and said they weren’t worried at all about the Gathering.

Yer Hemingway, and I wanna be there when gawd give you what she figures you deserve!

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #14: Main Meadow Moves Again
Date: June 22, 1999

In a sudden magnetic reversal, the poles of this year’s Gathering switched once again at today’s Family council. The consensus that was achieved three days earlier to move Main Meadow up the ridge to a large, open meadow known as Eagles Roost was changed in favor of keeping the Gathering centered in the boggy meadow known as Main Marsh.

The two dozen or so people at this afternoon’s council arrived in a mood to re-assess the earlier decision. Kitchen council had met earlier in the day and had issued an ultimatum: the kitchens would boycott serving dinner at Main Circle if it were held at the top of the ridge. Council can only talk and make decisions. The kitchens fill peoples’ bellies. And, they were asserting their power.

Furthermore, the water supply up at Eagles Roost was uncertain. There were rumors (but so far nothing more) of springs being being found. More and more people were complaining about the arduous, 15-minute uphill hike from Ananda Kitchen to the new Main Meadow. Also, only a small portion of the clear cut debris which covers that meadow had been cleared. The council’s earlier decision sounded good in theory but wasn’t being carried out in practice.

Before today’s council made its decision, it agreed to one sister’s request to take the time out to investigate a third meadow. The council missed a turn-off on the trail, got lost and made a 270 degree arc around the Daisy Meadow, near Bus Village, before actually finding it. On the 21st day of Seed Camp, large numbers of people were still trying to scout this site.

Daisy Meadow is beautiful. It is also dry and clear of debris. But, all the walking around only further convinced the council that it was important to keep Main Meadow down at the bottom of the Gathering.

The dry part of Main Marsh that would serve as Main Circle is a narrow, rectangular swath of high ground. It is roughly 100 ft. wide by 300- 400 feet long with small, shrub-like trees scattered about. Further down, the meadow turns into fragile wetland. It just might be possible to squeeze everybody in for large dinner circles and the July 4th Prayer and Meditation for World Peace. As the Gathering becomes larger, dinner will have to be served in long, tightly compressed concentric circles.

“Everybody’s just gonna have to sit close together,” one old hippie said when he heard the news that Main Circle had been moved, again.

Most people are simply relieved that all the flip-flopping is over, or appears to be over. The practical, day-to-day logistics of setting up the annual Gathering are enormous.

Yet, this debate offers us an unusual chance to look within ourselves and ask how much, if any, personal inconvenience would we accept if it really was essential to gank the Gathering up the ridge. We know what “Babylon” does to the Earth when its convenience is at stake. Would we allow anything to disrupt our party in the woods? If push came to shove, would we really be any different?

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From: Hawker
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #14: Main Meadow Moves Again
Date: June 22, 1999

P.S. Hey folks remember to switch to using gath...@conf.welcomehome.org, not gath...@cygnus.com for all AGR posts.
P.P.S. The 1998 Arizona Gathering music recordings in MP3 flavor and CD info may be found at....
ftp://ftp.xichron.com/xfer/Music_from_the_Campfires.html
Info on obtaining this CD can be found by e-mailing me at Hawker@Connriver.net

From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #15: A Family Adventure
Date: June 28, 1999

No one can say for certain any longer whether the Gathering “officially” begins on June 21, June 28, or July 1. Meanwhile, more people arrive every day and this very spread out village is starting to take form.

Main Supply is distributing food and supplies to 25-30 kitchens with priority going first to Kiddie Village and then to kitchens that serve Main Circle.

Nora, the great-granddaughter of a Cherokee Indian chief, and Doug began focalizing supply at the start of Seed Camp. They had neither a vehicle nor money and had to bum rides from other Rainbows in order to go out and mine the food-rich dumpsters of western Pennsylvania. They have since been joined by Feather, who has worked in the restaurant business. They now run a highly organized system out of an improvised supply shed on FS Road 161, next to Kinda Sorta Kitchen.

“We really encourage kitchens to feed Main Circle,” Doug said. “If people don’t come to Main Circle to eat, they aren’t going to put money in the Magic Hat. And it’s the Magic Hat that keeps the Family phat.”

Main Circle dinner is still being held on the high end of Main Marsh where the main trail passes through like a four-lane freeway.

A couple of hundred people showed up last night. A juggler stood on the lower edge of the circle tossing weighted tennis balls in the air. There were announcements about dogs and sprained ankles and Dr. Bronner’s soap (which takes 30 years to biodegrade in water) while coolers full of food waited to be served. And a couple of children zoomed through the circle pushing Tonka trucks in front of them.

After the Ohming ceased, people wedged themselves in two concentric circles facing each other. The idea is to avoid disturbing the meadow for as long as possible. Five kitchens showed up with food. Millieways served potato and veggie soup and It’s a Beautiful Day served pasta and veggie soup. Also, there was rice from Share Kitchen, curried rice from Ananda Kitchen and stir-fried rice and veggies from Raven’s Ghetto Den. During the meal a barefoot woman named Maria collected $233 in Guitar Bob’s old straw hat.

Local media coverage has become more and more positive in recent weeks as reporters come out and visit the site. The Ridgway Record is also now printing unofficial press releases (See Below) from the “Rainbow Info Council”.

“We try to be open to all points of view,” said Bekki Guilyard, Editor of the Ridgway Record. “I believe if you give people enough information they can sort out the truth for themselves.”

And, all that tantalizing information is making locals curious to see what’s going on out in these woods.

I was hitchhiking back from the library (where I post all my stories) last Saturday when I was picked up by a family of four. Bob, who works at a powdered metal factory, and Clara rode in front of the family van. And I rode in back with their daughter Robin (13) and their son Chris (9).

“I don’t usually pick up hitchhikers,” Bob said. But, his curiosity was greater than his wariness. He asked me if I would guide them right into the Gathering, and I agreed.

The kids marveled at finding a hippie so far out of his natural forest habitat. This was much better than watching “Wonder Years”. They peppered me with questions - “Why do you all gather?”, “What do you all do at a Gathering?”, “Where do you all come from?”, “How many people are coming?” - that I’ve come to take for granted. Then they wanted to know where I come from, how I live and how I support myself.

We pulled off in a small clearing near the back gate at FS 168. A-Camp was miles away.

They were all soon winded by the 1 1/2 mile downward trek into the Gathering. The woods were still and they kept on asking how much further we had to go. Clara was amazed that people would carry all their gear and kitchen equipment into the Gathering. Finally, we spotted the blue tarp of Katuah/Zipolite Kitchen.

I showed them the water system, the heart-shaped firepit and the kitchen that was in the final stages of construction.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe world peace was possible,” said Paisley, the kitchen’s focalizer. “You gotta have faith. There’s going to be 20,000-30,000 of us here and we’re all going to be living in peace.”

We followed the trail over to Ananda and found a booming drum circle. Bam-Bam and a dozen others were raging while pots of food simmered on the stove. A young man came up and asked Robin if she wanted to hold his pet python. All four of them looked around with wonder and amazement. They had never seen anything like it.

“I guess people wouldn’t have been doing this for so many years if it wasn’t a lot of fun,” Bob concluded.

Still a tad chubby with fair skin and long, dark hair, Robin didn’t like the walk in or the occasional mud in the trail. But once in the Gathering, her mood changed.

“This is soooo cool,” she said over and over again. “I want to be a Rainbow.”

We made it back over to dinner circle just in time for a group Ohm which Robin joined in (“that was sooo cool!”) while her parents and brother stood back. They didn’t have any bowls and Bob said that you don’t just invite yourself to someone else’s dinner. I ate swiftly from my coconut bowl and then we took off with 1 1/2 hours of daylight left in that long, lazy June evening. They were worried again about time.

“Co’mon, we gotta get going,” Bob said. “I don’t want to be lost in the forest when it’s dark.”

We hiked back up the trail. And no one blew an artery. When we arrived at the gate, I gave my e-mail address to Bob and we promised to stay in touch. He wanted to bring other friends and relatives back out with his family for an overnight camping excursion later in the Gathering. It will be the first chance to use the tent that his daughter got for him for Father’s Day five years ago.

P.S. Here’s a copy of a press release (“Rainbows issue unofficial release about gathering”) that appeared in the Ridgway Record on June 23:

“The Rainbow Family’s Info Council has issued its own news release regarding incidents at the gathering. Of course, with no recognized leaders, this is an unofficial press release.

“The Rainbow Info Council reports the following incidents for the 24- hour period ending June 21.

“There were 14,109 hugs shared, 163,978 smiles radiated, 3,406 free meals served, 1,236 songs sung around campfires, 23 cases of enlightenment obtained, 5,171 new friendships made and 212 good Karma citations issued to people who went out of their way to help haul in supplies on the trails leading into the Gathering.

“These incidents, say the council. are expected to greatly increase in the next two weeks “and they will be closely monitored.

“According to the Rainbows, there are between 1,000 and 1,200 people on site, and as many as 25,000 to 30,000 are expected to attend the gathering at its peak on July 4.

“The Rainbow gathering is a free, non-commercial event that has taken place in a different national forest every year since 1972. According to the council, anyone who has a belly button is invited to attend.”

P.P.S. There have been concerns expressed about water supplies at this Gathering. This is a water rich site and in spite of semi-drought conditions multiple springs have been tapped into and are delivering a steady stream of fresh water. I’ve been drinking it for weeks without any problem.

However, water still doesn’t flow uphill. And, for those people who are camped on the upper ridge of the gathering toward FS 161 and FS 393 (Bus Village) obtaining water is a more difficult process. Maintaining high quality drinking water throughout the Gathering is everyone’s responsibility. Don’t park your tent anywhere near a spring, even if it’s the 3rd of July and good real estate is hard to come by. And if you do accidentally set up too close to a spring, don’t be tweeky when you are asked to move. These areas are well-marked off and for good reason.

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From: Vego626
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #15: A Family Adventure
Date: June 28, 1999

From: michae...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #15: A Family Adventure
Date: June 30, 1999

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

From: michae...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #15: A Family Adventure
Date: June 30, 1999

In article <zgTd3.246$gL....@newsfeed.slurp.net>, “Vego626” <veg...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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From: johnny appleseed
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 29, 1999

Everything is biggerin’ and biggerin’ at this point. The population of the Gathering has more than doubled to 4,000 this past weekend as a steady stream of cars has journeyed down FS Road 136 to the parking lot in a big, open field near Owls Nest. Woodlands that once belonged to the Seneca Indians are being densely inhabited for a few days by the long-haired descendents of the white men who paid off Chief Cornplanter in 1784 with $9,400 in guns, ammo, trinkets and firewater.

Dome tents are popping up throughout this long, narrow valley. It’s hot and steamy and more and more people can be seen swimming at Cutey Booty Beach along the shores of Bear Creek.

People from Sun Dog lugged a piano all the way down to their kitchen/entertainment complex. Millieways has a nude dancing cage. And Granola Funk is putting the finishing touches on its two-story theatre in the woods. The green velvet curtain arrived yesterday. Dinner circle has grown big enough to move (for now) to the middle of Main Meadow/Main Marsh. At last glance, 62 camps and/or kitchens are listed on the big map by the info booth at Main Meadow.

At times all the noise and pandemonium becomes monotonous and I drift up the ridge to Chico’s Southern Yin-Yang kitchen. Then, I continue all the way out FS 161 searching for ol’ Charlie Freedom and the Welcome Home center.

The densely-wooded area along FS 161 is oddly quiet in spite of the Kurt Cobain music blaring in the darkness. I stop at Road Dog kitchen and eat half a bowl of warm spaghetti. An old-timer with a bushy gray beard is embarrassed by all the violence and chaos that goes on a half-mile up the road at A-Camp.

“I want to have a place where you can drink without all the rowdiness,” he says.

I start to say something when a topless young woman in olive green fatigues interrupts. She has small, firm breasts and is taking the night off from her work at Ananda Kitchen.

“I hear a lot of people talk shit about A-Camp,” she says. “But they don’t know what they are talking about. I go there to relax. It’s stressful working in a kitchen all the time.”

When I walk by A-Camp, there are only a couple of brothers standing in front of a raging, roadside bonfire. There’s no sign of trouble, at the moment. No shouting, or fighting or attempts to misdirect new arrivals into parking in an area where they can be more easily panhandled. I consider myself lucky and continue along.

A bouncy esprit de corps prevails at the Welcome Home center out on FS 136. Charlie Freedom was the first to arrive at this spot three weeks ago. He parked his big purple rig off to the side of the road and has been there ever since. It’s a ‘77 Dodge with a camper shell. And it is sturdy.

Charlie is a recovered alcoholic who has been on the road for 40 years. He sits in his lawn chair, with his dog Bud nearby, and watches all the comings and goings without saying much. He is slowly dying of cancer and has the unhurried calm of an Oriental sage. Locals who read about him in the paper are always excited when they finally meet him.

Welcome Home now has a small, dedicated band of volunteers. It consists of a campfire, a small blue tarp for shelter and a couple of counters full of donated food. It is a lonely outpost located about six miles from Main Circle. However, the infectious enthusiasm of new arrivals and the tense, unspoken standoff with the cops makes for a unique, highly-charged ambiance that proves irresistible for some.

There’s nothing like walking up to the front passenger window of a car and looking into the exhausted and grateful smiles of people who in that moment realize they have finally made it to the Gathering after long, uncertain journeys from places like Tennessee, Colorado, Michigan, California, Oregon, etc.

“I’m all jacked up by what’s happening already,” said one sister after staying up until dawn to greet new arrivals. “God I wonder what next weekend will be like!”

Everyone (except those who are driving their live-in vehicles to Bus Village) is presently being directed to park at a large, open field near Owls Nest on FS 136, four miles past the Welcome Home center. There is a heavy police presence (both Forest Service and Pennsylvania State Police) on all roads leading into the Gathering.

Pennsylvania state troopers receive a beginning wage of about $36,000 per year, or $17.50 per hour. They slowly cruise up and down the quiet, dusty roads with their patrol lights jutting up into the air like dorsal fins. A federal court in Missouri ruled earlier this month that setting up police roadblocks around a Gathering is unconstitutional. So, the police are now looking to pull people over for every conceivable infraction. It is a roving gauntlet.

Don’t be a bliss ninny until you are in the Gathering. Here are some things to keep in mind:

*Have your driver’s license, registration, title of ownership, and proof of insurance ready in case you are pulled over.

*Do not drive more than 20 mph on Forest Service roads. Also, the speed limit on Laurel Hill Road coming out of Ridgway drops from 35 mph to 30 mph at the township line. The road was only paved last year and the speeding signs have yet to be updated.

*Remove any dangling objects - beads, feathers, cystals, dream catchers, fuzzy dice, sunglasses, etc. - from your rear view mirror. Such objects are considered an “obstruction of view”. Several people have already been stopped and issued $100 tickets for this violation.

*If you feel you have been unfairly treated by law enforcement, tell the people at the Welcome Home center or at the Main Meadow info booth that you want to fill out a Law Enforcement Contact Report. When enough people start making these reports, we can start to prove systematic patterns of police harassment in court and successfully defend our First and Fourth Amendment rights.

*If pulled over, take a deep breath and remember that the police are humans too, even if they don’t always act like it.

P.S. I’m going to be signing off for a little while. Doing this Seed Camp Journal has been a unique and fascinating experience. Thanks for sharing in it.

________________________________________________
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From: claw
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 29, 1999

> *If pulled over, take a deep breath and remember that the police are humans too, even if they don’t always act like it.
> *Once you get into the Gathering, EVERYTHING will be different.

do not lie when you get into gathering you will see armed state police on horse back my feeling was that there were a number of under cover police as well not much about this gathering feels loving claw

From: michae...@my-deja.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 30, 1999

In article <9990629235103.36857.qmail.alt.gathering.rainbow@hotmail.com>, gath...@cygnus.com wrote:

> Everything is biggerin’ and biggerin’ at this point. The population of the Gathering has more than doubled to 4,000 this past weekend as a steady stream of cars has journeyed down FS Road 136 to the parking lot in a big, open field near Owls Nest.

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From: Adam Wozniak
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 30, 1999

> do not lie when you get into gathering you will see armed state police on horse >back > my feeling was that there were a number of under cover police as well > not much about this gathering feels loving claw >‘‘‘‘

Sorry, when is this not true? There are always FS folks on horseback carrying guns. They are always followed by bro&sis yelling “6 up!” or “Guns in the church!”

Like Any Other Gathering. Slow down, say hi, talk to them. They have bellybuttons too Besides, their numbers within the Gathering tend to decrease with time. they know they’re outnumbered, and they’re too paranoid to not let that bother them.

Other than a philosophical objection to guns in the church, they have never bothered me. On the contrary, they are generally helpful, and able to answer questions and give informed advice.

I don’t know about undercover cops (how could I?), but I don’t ever recall seeing anyone harassed by the law within the gathering. How could they? The only time in 6 years I’ve ever even heard about undercover cops was when I was acting as CB relay, and then their presence was restricted to the parking lot.

Smile, and don’t let their presense drain your good energy. You’re better than that. : )

From: Skunkin101
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 30, 1999

thanks for all the input through out the weeks they are a great help to all. peace n love. -skunk

From: Vego626
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: June 30, 1999

Really, can any healthy male ignore nude breasts within reach without sublimating his libido.(that don’t mean masturbation, either)

From: Earthman
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

> Really, can any healthy male ignore nude breasts within reach without sublimating his libido.(that don’t mean masturbation, either)

And I’m sure I will do so many times this gathering, as well as every other one. “Parts is parts,” so what? I tend to ignore a lot of nude elbows and a lot of nude toes too. Not to mention a nude penis or knee or two.

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From: Pain...@aol.com
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

In a message dated 6/30/99 7:47:34 PM Pacific Daylight Time, veg...@hotmail.com writes:

> Really, can any healthy male ignore nude breasts within reach without sublimating his libido.(that don’t mean masturbation, either)

Yes. Healthy people don’t sublimate their libidos. Next question? “Within reach” is an ugly, scarey phrase, brother; as though breasts are “there” for your touching. Miranda, Raven

From: Vego626
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

I humbly withdraw the “within reach” phrase now that I have learned that it implies “serial groping” on my part which I can assure you has never been my style. Although now I am glad I mentioned it, because it has brought some other thoughts to mind.

As a local Babylonian by birth (not my fault),the few,regretfully, times that I’ve been exposed to the female nude body(relatives not included) have been “there for me” situations. I’m not a physically overaggressive male, on the contrary, I have many times felt intimidated by local females who often use their bodies to control the males around them. I had one girl describe a guy she knew as a wimp who “doesn’t have the balls to f--- her.” I felt that she also meant that label for me, when I allowed social considerations to override my strong physical attraction to her.

The overwhelming local subject of discussion about the Gathering is the nudity but now you’ve made me feel that I’ve “stepped over the line” in mentioning it, a sort of “Emperor’s new clothes” scenario.

I am now in fear of returning to the Gathering, knowing that my belly button may be the focus of “impure thoughts.” : )

Among the characteristics of dysfunctionality in “groups” or “families” are the unspoken truths. If the truth of physical sexual attraction is a “no no” for discussion, could it be that the nudity is often an “in your face” passive aggression rather than just a feeling of freedom?

I really sensed an underlying anger when I was there Sunday, not toward me, but toward society. Unconditional love has no anger as a component,empathy,understanding and patience are the evidence.

From: Dz61
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

whats the big deal anyway. its like nature. is nudety a bad thing?? if so cover the trees so they will not be nude.

From: Ben Tremblay
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

> Yes. Healthy people don’t sublimate their libidos. Next question? “Within reach” is an ugly, scarey phrase, brother; as though breasts are “there” for your touching.

I’ll take your word on “within reach being and “ugly scarey” phrase. (I thought it was kinda frank and honest.) If you think how we get socialized in Babylon, maybe that’ll give rise to something like reasonable fear. I’m sure you already recognize that rule #1 of advertising is “Turn desire into desperate need”.

From: Ben Tremblay
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

> I humbly withdraw the “within reach” phrase now that I have learned that it implies “serial groping” on my part which I can assure you has never been my style.

> Although now I am glad I mentioned it, because it has brought some other thoughts to mind. As a local Babylonian by birth (not my fault)

> Among the characteristics of dysfunctionality in “groups” or “families” are the unspoken truths. If the truth of physical sexual attraction is a “no no” for discussion, could it be that the nudity is often an “in your face” passive aggression rather than just a feeling of freedom? I really sensed an underlying anger when I was there Sunday, not toward me, but toward society. Unconditional love has no anger as a component,empathy,understanding and patience are the evidence.

I’ve been pondering and working with group-dynamics since ummmm 68, the year we got our bus (I was lucky to get in on that, being only 14 at the time) ... you know, the full 22 or so folk showed up to change the curtains but changing the engine came down to 6 of us ... that sort of thing. Ain’t I can’t say we’ve “improved” or anything. But there’s one thing I wanted to comment on (apart from the fact that being Babylon-born and bred has to be part of the understanding, even though it doesn’t serve as an excuse).

Free from anger? No anger? Anger not arising instinctively? ... more than I think is reasonable expectation ... like lust. Since you brought up “sublimating” let me share some of my way-too-abstract thinking on this. I think we really get our minds jerked when naturally primitive responses get condemned. _Condemned_, note, not _criticised_ or something else. Getting swept away by anger or carried away by lust, well, that’s within our controls. But having blood run hot? If our “peers” have no sympathy or understanding of what can arise in the moment, then it’s just another dogmatic bunch.

Seeing as how we aren’t gonna attain perfection anytime soon, I heartily suggest we hone our tolerance and compassion ... solidarity rulez.

“If I had listened once or twice
If I had closed my mouth and opened my eyes
If I had cooled my head and warmed my heart
I’d not be on this road tonite.” James Taylor

From: Vego626
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

Thanks for you honesty, Ben. My wife says I have problems with anger. I honestly find little or none within myself, possibly I should look deeper if it must be present. I would feel that I.ve given control of my emotions over to another if I allowed their actions to change my state of mind. This is a belief that I have chosen to hold, I admit. The larger belief I hold is that we are all alone in our own minds. Though 20,000 people come together, each will only hear his/her thoughts and experience only the feelings that were not shamed away during childhood and adolescence by well meaning but unknowing parents and authority figures. Babies smile and laugh spontaneously pre-religion and people seldom do either honestly post-religion.

An amazing, to me, recent observation concerns a woman I have encountered every working day for 10+ years. She hated her job, was cynical and grumpy every day for the entire time I knew her. In the last two weeks she has been pleasant, optimistic, and seems the enjoy her work. What event triggered the change? Her son rounded a curve at night and slammed into a garbage truck, massive injuries,coma, the works. Her happiness now stems from the faint signs of improvement in his condition each week.............Why was she not happy when he was in excellent health for the last ten years? I think that people do not realize that they have the power to choose how they feel about anything by directing their focus. Dwell on the bad possibilities, and bad vibes will result. Imagine the best possible outcomes always, and not only good feelings but increased power to bring about the best will be the result.

We all have the power to make this choice, why choose to believe that choices of others control our feelings? Anger, to me, is an admission of that choice. Am I making any sense here, to other than myself?

From: Vego626
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 1, 1999

I was dwelling on your perspective, Ben, forgot about her knee-jerk reaction altogether. I still would like to hear what you think of my view of “what is anger, inevitable emotion or controllable REaction?”

From: willowbear
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 2, 1999

*sigh* I’m _tempted_ to apologize, but taking peoples’ words and twisting them around ... that really pushes my buttons.

But yaa, I hear you ... I get that here too. I thought it was sinking in. HeyHo. I’m not going to lumber this with the particular catastrophe I’m trying to deal with here.

> We all have the power to make this choice,why choose to believe that choices of others control our feelings? Anger, to me, is an admission of that choice. Am I making any sense here, to other than myself? Y’are here. Even if I didn’t distort her point, I still raised it to a painful point. The fact that she did both just doesn’t give me licence. HeyHo *_gasshos_ to the circle*

From: willowbear
Subject: Whisps of Paper in a wind (was Re: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’)
Date: July 2, 1999

> I was dwelling on your perspective, Ben, forgot about her knee-jerk reaction altogether.

> I still would like to hear what you think of my view of “what is anger, inevitable emotion or controllable REaction?”

I’m aiming for something between that deadly calm trolls have, and the shooting-from the lip the other types of button-puchers show. ... there’s something about authenticity that’s kinda slippery-slope, know what I mean?

Whether I’m “right” and I run my mouth, or whether I twisted facts and wilfully minintreprate the other so I can use their bawds as a ladder to the soap-box, I’m still nothing more than a whisp of paper if I run my mouth. I forgot to check my ego, and I got into habit and instinct.

Ya know, to tell you the truth, I put my life on the hook by the door to see if university has anything to say on all this. Now, IMHO, cog-psych has a pretty good grasp of sqaure 1 on why we’re so quick to get feuding, but on the other hand there’s very little evidence of anything like free-will and consciousness (you’d hear “Consciousness is epiphenomenal”; it’s just a symptom, it really doesn’t get involved in determining our actual behaviour). But of course that’s the product of a system that’s materialistic, authoritarian, reductionist, and funded by the likes of drug-companies. So this ain’t exactly a surprise, ehh? ;-)

I could just ignore the negative vibes, and throw up a force-field, something like a cloak of inhumanity. But I haven’t come this far just to become a droid.

You made sense to me. Howz this? We are all alone in our minds. We will all die alone at some point. Personal fulfillment,happiness, satisfaction are the goals of each of us.What we must do to attain these goals is the challenge. Relationships with others require sacrifice of our personal resources, but the payback seems to exceed the output,as if something extra were created in the process. Possibly more happiness is available through a life of giving than through a life of taking. Each receives while all receive; a win,win situation. A system based on unlimited abundance rather than scarcity. Technology now seems potentially capable of providing such a system. We may be at the turning point;Great Depression fears give way to technology’s unlimited possibilities. That’s what I see.

> You made sense to me. Howz this? We are all alone in our minds. We will all die alone at some point.

> Relationships with others require sacrifice of our personal resources, but the payback seems to exceed the output,as if something extra were created in the process.

Can be, ayup. Maybe it’s less of a “sacrifice” when that’s really a known. I know folkz as never gotten much but a kick in the butt for free ... I mean they’ve never experienced synergy, symbiosis, or anything like a reasonable success.

> Possibly more happiness is available through a life of giving than through a life of taking.

Oh, fa’ shure! Something kinda free and kinda unprompted is a mind-bender, no?

ummmm ... so long as “happiness” doesn’t hinge on the other’s making “the most” of the situation. It’s sometimes hard to accept good, or honest friendship, or sharing. If I give something and the other gets snotty, that’s my big chance to get righteous, ya know?

Ohhhhhh wooooooaa! Nothing personal (honest!) but this sounds like something from a brochure on “Better Living Through Technology” meaning plastic and genetically engineered food. [Dig: super-crops from Monsanto seem to have lots of advantages till you reckon that they need special chemicals (sold by Monsanto, of course) and that the seeds they create are _sterile_. Grok? Farmers harvest stuff that can’t be planted. And if it _could_ be planted, they wouldn’t be allowed to ... the purchase contract spells that out.)] Any good engineer will ‘fess up that there’s no free lunch.

> We may be at the turning point;Great Depression fears give way to technology’s unlimited possibilities. That’s what I see.

You can’t see it ... you might vision it, but you can’t see it cuz it ain’t there. This, my friend, is a variation on “the benevolent god” who will bail us out. Nope. Sorry. Ya wanna see? Take a peek: those who gotz get life-saving heroic measures to live out more days (perhaps in sterile lifes, okay, granted) while those who dontz go blind from lacking 36c worth of vitamin A.

Yae cannae see what isn’t and has never been. ‘Member the man’s words: “I have a dream!” (and don’t we all need a least a couple hours a year flat on our backs pondering a rainbow-strewn skyscape?)

In article <SuUe3.374$RM1....@newsfeed.slurp.net>, “Vego626” <veg...@hotmail.com> writes:

> I was dwelling on your perspective, Ben, forgot about her knee-jerkreaction altogether. I still would like to hear what you think of my view of"what is anger, inevitable emotion or controllable REaction?"

What is inevitable about *any* emotion? I’ve met some people that I swear they don’t have much in the way of feelings. Not just because I don’t pick up much feeling from them, but because their responses to things tend to be, well, clinical. So I don’t thing any emotion, let along anger, is inevitable.

On the other hand I’ve noticed that if I have an angry response to something and don’t deal with it openly it will subvert into a level I’d really rather it didnt; like turning into depression. Ususally just “talking it through” is enough to get me centered again.

In article <19990703223602.05874.00002872@ngol05.aol.com>, boomb...@aol.com (BoomBdBoom) wrote:

> What is inevitable about *any* emotion? I’ve met some people that I swear they don’t have much in the way of feelings. Not just because I don’t pick up much feeling from them, but because their responses to things tend to be, well, clinical. So I don’t thing any emotion, let along anger, is inevitable.
> Maybe 6, 7 years ago i got angry very infrequently but got depressed fairly often. I started getting angry at some point and stopped getting depressed; anecdotally at least my experience would validate what you’re talking about. I figure getting mad, knowing i’m mad is a good indicator to me and often to others of where i stand, and never worth ignoring.

so i guess i’ve got to go with this: anger is 1) an inevitable reaction for all but the most incredibly enlightened among us (my anger lets me know when i’m seeing/feeling an injustice, either globally or just an injustice to my petty ego) BUT ALSO 2) absolutely controllable in the sense that I/we always have choices as to how I/we express it....i.e., productively; (go change an unfair law, for instance, non-violent resistance, etc.) or by venting or if i can’t transmogrify my anger into a so-called “civilized” expression,it stays primal and a little scary, then i still have the choice of going and beating on the filing cabinets in my office or chopping the crap out of a bunch of vegetables or kicking rocks and walls (with proper footwear), ETC.

anger in my book is a good thing, CHANNELED properly; a potentially horrendous thing when allowed to run free and when coming from someone who is not AWARE they’re angry, or why, or who is somehow incapable of direting their own anger. (mind you, i’m not always “channeling properly” myself... i’ve had and still have some really un

> > I was dwelling on your perspective, Ben, forgot about her knee-jerk reaction altogether. I still would like to hear what you think of my view of “what is anger, inevitable emotion or controllable REaction?”
> What is inevitable about *any* emotion?

K. Let’s start there. The more honest definition of “psychopath” (as distinct from sociopath etc etc etc) pays attention to the lack of affect ... a killing rage, these might feel ... but no POd cuz a friend just treated em like a stranger, that sort of thing. Personal indignation, I call it. Hey! How often do our personal principles get acknowledged, let alone agreed with, ya know?

But more interesting to the Babylonian navigator: what is _predictable_. Unless and until we all come out of cutter cutter (Ronald McDonald meets Betty Crocker?), all bets are off. Hence the movement to regularization and “raionalization”. Like the local bookie, the insurance companies and banks (not to mention LEOs *~~~~ ~~~~~~ Have a nice week!! WE LUV EWE!*) have it figured so’z they win either way. Peace and welfare be damned.

> I’ve met some people that I swear they don’t have much in the way of feelings. Not just because I don’t pick up much feeling from them, but because their responses to things tend to be, well, clinical.

The best I’ve figured is that ummmm something along the line of “they know the lyrics, but don’t hear the music” ... something contrived, to ummmm practiced, careful. The _real_ skeeery dudes never come to the attention of the criminal justice system. They’re more likely to be CEOs ... ambitious, goal- directed, able to use others, etc etc etc ...yer loud A-camper may be an “Anti- Social Personality”, but he has feelings.

> On the other hand I’ve noticed that if I have an angry response to something and don’t deal with it openly it will subvert into a level I’d really rather it didnt; like turning into depression.

Or something? My theory is that the most modern part of the brain doesn’t deal with ambiguity real well. Earlier, you either killed and ate it, or you ummmmm, you know. *twinkle* But _now_?! Hey. The dude who makes new friends with the goal of recruiting a buyer is the Babylonian ideal; we’re in a modern/abstract world where the commodity isn’t _stuff_ ... it’s _warm bodies_ with a predisposition to go along with what the pretty boy has to say.

The key reason I got into Tib. Buddhism was the focus on authenticity. Now, I’ve failed at pret near everything (samsaric dharma = standard operating procedure for Babylon) and most of that I explain away (perhaps self-servingly) as my aversion to kissing ass, boot licking, and my stupidity when it comes to office politics (you know, “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive” ... I figure I’m too stuned to keep track. It’s my line, and I’m stickin’ to it! *G*)

I can’t succeed at a game I don’t wanna play. I can’t find an emotion that’s “better” than the one that has arisen naturally, spontaneously, in the situation, and without contrivence. Not to say my attitude can’t use adjustment, but who I was 10 seconds ago is what I gotta deal with. Like we usta say instead of “which side are ya on”: “Bus is leaving!! are ya on, or are ya off?”

Ain’t “talking it through” precious, though. Knock-offs and grey- market immitations just don’t cut it.

WillowBear
having spent part of the evening watching a Night Hawk in flight (low clouds allow that), and the rest listening to rudely loud blues

In article <377EBCE9...@chebucto.ns.ca>, Ben Tremblay <ab...@chebucto.ns.ca> writes:

> The key reason I got into Tib. Buddhism was the focus on authenticity. Now, I’ve failed at pret near everything (samsaric dharma = standard operating procedure for Babylon) and most of that I explain away (perhaps self-servingly) as my aversion to kissing ass, boot licking, and my stupidity when it comes to office politics (you know, “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive” ... I figure I’m too stuned to keep track. It’s my line, and I’m stickin’ to it! *G*)

Authenticity has been a fixation for me for many years. Actually, my interest was more along the lines of avoiding hypocracy, which I think may be the other side of the same coin. Eventually I found that there was a wide range of authentic resoponses I could have to any given event. I could choose not to be angry about something, provided I saw it in the right light.

Like having someone butt in line. That is rude because it is a monor injustice. But is it worth yelling over? Is it worth a comment? Is it worth stewing over? I can and have had a wide range of resonses to the people who do it. Which is authentic? The first, knee-jerk reaction or the second thoughts reaction?

> anger in my book is a good thing, CHANNELED properly; a potentially horrendous thing when allowed to run free and when coming from someone who is not AWARE they’re angry, or why, or who is somehow incapable of direting their own anger.

> (mind you, i’m not always “channeling properly” myself... i’ve had and still have some really un

> > (mind you, i’m not always “channeling properly” myself... i’ve had and still have some really un
> This is where my post cut off. Lisa Rising, can you post the rest of it?

--sorry Montana, I’m not sure I know what the rest of that posting said exactly; something like this: mind you, I’m not always “channeling properly” myself, I’ve had and still have some really unFORTUNATE reckonings w/my own anger, misdirected.) but I do think that (and this goes back also to the authentic/unauthentic discussion between you and ben), anger, or even emotion in general does not necessarily mean AUTHENTIC to me; this might sound cold and overly rational, but I’m not really sure emotion is a sure guide to reality (i’m aware of this when i have hormonal swings, or for instance when i quit smoking recently-- my emotions felt “real” and “authentic” but turned out to be largely temporary... I was at a family reunion while i was quitting smoking, held in Montana only every 4 years, and i’m glad i had some awareness that my frustration one day was more the quitting smoking than the situation... that’s really not a situation i could have afforded to turn ugly or unpleasant-- getting to know my relatives/catch up was WAY more important over the span of those 4 years than any of the things i was thinking/feeeling short-term, there.)

> >I can’t succeed at a game I don’t wanna play. I can’t find an emotion that’s “better” than the one that has arisen naturally, spontaneously, in the situation, and without contrivence. Not to say my attitude can’t use adjustment, but who I was 10 seconds ago is what I gotta deal with.

an “attitude adjustment” administered to myself is what maturity/adulthood’s all about for me; i’m not seeking to get rid of my anger, but to more and more swiftly assess it’s likely impact and then either ride it out as necessary-- (i.e. if it’s my boss at work and he’s not been listening to me re how much work he’s dumping on me or something similar, i’ll sometimes let it go-- i know his feelings aren’t easily hurt and my anger so far seems to be the best indicator i can give him that i absolutely mean business) or turn it elsewhere (as in your example; i don’t really want to add all that negativity to public space MOST of the time when someone cuts in front of me in line, nor do i want to get started on a big argument with someone i don’t know, all because i might have to wait an extra 30 seconds for them to go ahead of me...) i’ve been told that i have an overly rational bent, tho, so all this may be more me talking to me than any kind of

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Seems I opened a canaworms when I asked about anger. I.m 51 yrs.old, male. 2 young adult daughters whove struck out on their own; empty nester here. My wife refuses to deny or reduce any emotion that arises to her, I attempt to control mine, especially anger. I may have actually succeeded....I have no sense of anger toward anyone that I can think of. I can see how different points of view will result in different choices of action which are entirely reasonable from those starting points. I feel secure unto myself enough to not feel threatened by the judgementalism of most others. I feel that we all have only one short life,I,ve seen no convincing evidence to believe otherwise, so the pursuit of happiness seems the most sensible quest to me. Hence, anger; being un-happy, seems a thing to avoid for one’s best interests. Ever see a angry happy person?Happy angry person? Seems contradictory to me!

From: Seeker
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 8, 1999

> I start to say something when a topless young woman in olive green fatigues interrupts. She has small, firm breasts and is taking the night off from her work at Ananda Kitchen.

That comment makes me sick to my stomach! What a sexist, disgusting pornographic thing to say! YOU ARE A PIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Seeker
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 8, 1999

> Really, can any healthy male ignore nude breasts within reach without sublimating his libido.(that don’t mean masturbation, either)

Which is why there should be no nudity ever except between people who are in a committed partnership, in a medical situation, or very young children being cared for by adults.

From: lur...@mycomputer.org
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 8, 1999

> That comment makes me sick to my stomach! What a sexist, disgusting pornographic thing to say! YOU ARE A PIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was unable to go to the gathering and this brother’s descriptions were the next best thing I could find. His descriptions were rich with extra detail that made his words come to life. For example “An old-timer with a bushy gray beard is embarrassed by all the violence and chaos that goes on a half-mile up the road at A-Camp.” paints a much fuller image than “A brother is embarrassed by all the violence and chaos that goes on a half-mile up the road at A-Camp.”

I read the words that you quoted when they were 1st posted. They painted an image of beauty in my mind and did not sexually arouse me.

On the other hand had he written about a pantsless brother and gone on to enrich the image I suspect that some would have been offended while others would not.

I’d like to thank johnny appleseed for the excellent journal entries and I hope that he continues to provide the rich images in the future.

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From: D. K.
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 8, 1999

> That comment makes me sick to my stomach! What a sexist, disgusting pornographic thing to say! YOU ARE A PIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: carla
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 9, 1999

> Really, can any healthy male ignore nude breasts within reach without sublimating his libido.(that don’t mean masturbation, either)

Sure, but the polite thing to do is keep it to yourself. Us sisters have all kinds of internal commentary going on when we pass by a naked guy, but we don’t usually repeat it in notes about seed camp! ;-)

Really, though, it is a very small nit to pick in an otherwise exquisite journal, and I much appreciate the brother’s contributions, tits or no tits.

From: Seeker
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: An Apology
Date: July 9, 1999

> I was unable to go to the gathering and this brother’s descriptions were the next best thing I could find. His descriptions were rich with extra detail that made his words come to life. For example “An old-timer with a bushy gray beard is embarrassed by all the violence and chaos that goes on a half-mile up the road at A-Camp.” paints a much fuller image than “A brother is embarrassed by all the violence and chaos that goes on a half-mile up the road at A-Camp.”

I want to apoplgize to everyone and johnny appleseed for my knee-jerk extreme overreaction. The image triggered something in me. I personally am not comfortable with nudity, but I have no right to judge others. I am really sorry for what I wrote in misplaced anger.

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself.
(I am large, I contain multitudes.) -- Walt Whitman

> Hence, anger; being un-happy, seems a thing to avoid for one’s best interests. Ever see a angry happy person?Happy angry person?

I don’t agree with this statement. Many good ways of dealing with a variety of issues include and are furthered by anger. I am still in agreement with the earlier post:

From: Natphish
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: Everything is Biggerin’ and Biggerin’
Date: July 10, 1999

As far as nudity goes....its COMPLETLY a choice (in the woods at least...dont advise goin to the grocery store naked :-))

Personally i choose not to do so. With all choices there is cause and effect...and it is the truth that it probibly is pretty hard for a male to look at a naked female and be complelty normal about it....especially for people who have neer been to a gathering before and are shocked by the nudity. If you are naked around 10,000 people.....you should realize that ya may get a few looks...its doesnt mean there gonna rape ya or nuthin

From: Miclac2
Subject: Seed Camp Journal Entry #16: An Apology
Date: July 10, 1999

> > I start to say something when a topless young woman in olive green fatigues interrupts. She has small, firm breasts and is taking the night off from her work at Ananda Kitchen.

That was absolutly not pornographic. If he had described someone fondleling those “small, firm breasts making the nipples erect”, now that would have been pornographic. Rats.

In article <000401becaf9$2166b840$d366e1cf.alt.gathering.rainbow@uswest.net>, kkchur...@uswest.net (Jo Ann Fuston) writes:

> > anger in my book is a good thing, CHANNELED properly; a potentially horrendous thing when allowed to run free and when coming from someone who is not AWARE they’re angry, or why, or who is somehow incapable of direting their own anger.
> I think Lisa Rising might have wrote that, or BoomBoom, I’m not sure.

Google Advanced Group Search can be accessed by first calling up a group name in Google Groups (alt.gathering.rainbow is at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.gathering.rainbow) and then clicking on the little black arrowhead inside the search window at the top of the page – at the extreme right, just to the left of the blue magnifying glass search button).

Not all posts can be found in Google’s archive; posters had the option of putting “X-No-Archive” in their headers, and some other posts are apparently completely lost for other reasons. Using their search engine is also hit and miss; I sometimes had to try several combinations of words to find some posts. The originals of all of these posts can most easily be found by enclosing the thread name in quotation marks in the Subject: box.