Last Journey
6. Freedom to run around nude if we want to
The site was two miles
from Bus Village. Two or three shuttle trucks carried campers as far as the information
booth, but most people probably chose to walk. The booth was staffed 24 hours a day.
Its function was to help people find their way to the eighty different kitchens and
all the camping areas, also to hand out Rainbow Guides and Always
Free magazines, the Rainbow Guide contained names and address of brothers and
sisters in every state and listed their interests. If any brother or sister were passing
through a new state they could contact someone in the guide and ask them if they could
shower or crash there. The All Ways Free was published twice a year normally,
and contained current events and items that Rainbows should be aware of, like new
legislations that might require a letter writing campaign; and the winter edition provided
information on the whereabouts of the coming national.
The site itself
stretched through thick Minnesota forest for five miles in the shape of a horseshoe. Paths
connected the eighty or so kitchens that fed as many as twenty thousand people at the
gatherings peak.
One of my favorite
kitchens was Disappearing Daves Kitchen. He was a Minnesota fella who
had never been to a Rainbow gathering before. He said he felt he was called, to run a
kitchen and he arrived on the site in May and stayed until September cleaning up. He built
his kitchen half way along the two mile road between the site and Bus Village. People
carrying heavy loads in or out welcomed his campfire, his shelter, his coffee and his
meals. Dave said he was basically a Christian but he did not fault any nudists or
Buddhists or Fruitists or Zippity-zoodists. All he did was provide free food and coffee
and shelter and human kindness. He carried two five gallon buckets of water a half mile
uphill several times a day; water or washing dishes, water for rinsing dishes, water for
brothers and sisters to drink, water for coffee, water for soup, water for rice. Brothers
and sisters often lent their shoulders to help him. Otherwise he did it all himself. He
was always busy, always happy, always kind.
There is always a lot
of work to be done at Rainbow Gatherings. The entire extravaganza survives soley with
volunteer participation. Various crews keep busy doing things that need doing.
One of the most
important jobs was digging the shifters. Where would we all have been without the valliant
efforts of those kind brothers and sisters? Every kitchen and every camping area and every
section of path needed at least one functioning shitter. And it had to be kept up
according to the standards of the Public Health service or they would close the whole
thing down. There had to be a bucket of lye or ash at each shitter. There had to be ample
toilet paper. There had to be a bucket for washing hands. The
crews dug the trenches a foot and a half wide and seven feet deep and ten feet long. When
they were full the crew returned and covered them with dirt and dug another one somewhere
and made signs to point the way and cleared paths. Some shitters lasted only a single day.
A lot of digging had to be done for twenty thousand people. Wally was so wiry! He could
outdig almost any of the young scamps. He always seemed to have a shovel in his hands.
Barker Lake was a real
blessing. Tea Time was situated at one point along the shore24 hour tea and coffee,
conversation and music. A couple hundred feet away through the bush was Sisters
camp, also along the shore.
I brought my canoe to
the Sisters camp and asked them if they would like to care for it. Any Rainbow
brother or sister who wanted to use it could take it out for a half an hour, as long as
one of the sisters knew who it was that had it. And of course the sisters could use it
whenever they wanted to, too. The sisters much appreciated the gift. One sister said she
had been praying that someone would bring a canoe for them to use. My cedar canoe was a
beautiful thing to see on the waters of Barker lake.
The weather was quite
hot usually, however we had a couple rain storms that were wild and wooly. The wind blew
so hard that the Bike Bus was rocking back and forth. I was sure glad I wasnt in a
tent down in the site. There wasnt a tent ever made that could resist a storm like
that, and everyone got soaked. But mostly we had a lot of sun.
Wed all
considered the famous Minnesota mosquitoes with foreboding.
Someone suggested that
when 20,000 people come together in a small area in no time at all all the mosquitoes are
swatted dead.
I took my bag of
leather Bikinis to the barter area near the information booth. Many sisters sat around me
checking out the different styles displayed on my Indian blanket. The bikinis were easily
worth a hundred dollars. Sisters tried them on right there. Rainbow
girls have great figures! Since money wasnt allowed in the gathering there
wasnt really any way for me to get anything of value for them. If I was to just give
them away theyd have been gone in less than a minute. But I did give some
awayjust to see my handiwork being worn gave me a thrill. I met a young sister
named Stacy. She loved the bikinis but she didnt have anything to trade for one.
Just sitting with her was payment enough for me and she had to sit there while I made her
a custom fitted top, ticklish business... Its a whoopycat job but someone has to do
it... |
Nicole was another young lovely. She was an earthy sister, too.
Nicole's flannel shirt and dirty ripped denims didnt look too feminine. But her eyes sparkled girlishly and her smile was the smile of a hard working Rainbow sister. She had a feminine side and she loved my leather bikini tops. She was so large on top that I wondered though if I made her one it would take a great deal of my precious elkskin. But I decided I didnt care about that, not really. So we sat on the bed in the back of my Bike Bus and spent a couple hours making a top for her. If I had chosen not to make a top for Nicole simply to conserve my material I would have deprived myself of a chance not only to create some art, but also I would have deprived myself of the opportunity to make someone happy. I love to do my art, whether it is making gemstones, or carving, or painting with oils, or creating photography, or sculpting in clay, or carving wood, or making deerskin bikinis. I gave another similar bikini to a sister named Cory and we paddled out on Barker lake in my canoe and did a photoshoot. |
Yeah, I sure had fun
with those bikinis. And my camera was so hot it was smoking. While I was videoing at Tea
Time one day I met Bridget, a 25 year old blond French-Canadian sister. Bridget plays
guitar and writes music and lyrics in both French and English. She got Tea Time rocking
out with her songs and I videoed several of them. Later we jumped into my canoe and
paddled around the lake in the sunset and shot a couple rolls of film. The setting sun
poured on her like honey.
At
one point she saw a dead tree leaning out over the lake. She suggested to me that she
might climb it. All I could think of were the slivers of that old bark and the way she was
so unprotected. I cautioned her not to try it because she might hurt herself. She responded
adamantly: No! RomTom, I
tink I can climb dat tree! I tink I can!
So
I watched with considerable trepidation as she made her way up about twenty feet. Some
fantastic photos resulted from her climbing that tree. |
Ashes was another
sister I photographed. We shot a roll of film beside the lake. Unfortunately the camera
malfunctioned and none of hers turned out. But I didnt find out about that until I
went to develop the roll.
I met Dawn one
afternoon on the road in Bus Village. Sparkling effervescence poured from her like wine.
We really got into some great conversation. She loved the idea of doing a photoshoot.
Later she came to my Bike Bus and asked if Id like to do it in the sunset which was
approaching. She had brought along her newly wed husband and the three of us walked out
along the shallow stream and shot a roll of film. Honeymoon photos.
Whew! She was fresh as daisies...
Blond and vivacious Rainbow Dancer traded some carved amber earrings to me for
a elkskin bikini with a triangle patch of beaver fur for the crotch. She wore it wildly
around the gathering. Whenever anyone remarked about the fur piece or asked what it was
she answered in her thick North Carolina accent:
Why,
Thats my BEAVER!
How funny....