My first year at Burning Man was life changing. I discovered a great deal about myself, those around me, society as a whole, and the wonders of the human imagination. On the lighter side of my findings, I will tell you the story of my gecko “wrap.” For this story, I will be using some terms that you might want to look up at the burningman site.
The night of the burn, I was haning out in camp just chillin’. The camp next door had been playing music, live and recorded alike, all week and was currently playing the audio from the Wizard of Oz. That’s not the soundtrack, mind, but the audio track from the movie. A bunch of us were reenacting the movie. It was a hoot. Anyhow, after dancing about like a crazed munchkin, I sat down at camp and noticed a crumpled blue mass in the middle of the street. I approached it, and thought it to be a shawl, or wrap. It was navy blue with white geckos all over it. It was quite cute. I was going to be in drag for the burn, and thought that this would make a perfect addition to my outfit. That proved to be a great decision.
That night was very cold. I was in a nightie and heels. The only reason I am alive today is that the shawl kept the wind from chilling me to the bone. It wasn’t much for insulation, but in those short moments when the wind opened the shawl, I nearly froze to death. I napped next to the burning embers of the man, then made the long trek back to camp in the bitter cold.
I kept the shawl and wore it again the next year as an extremely long head bandana. It was quite impressive in the wind, though it was slightly heavy. The next morning I had a wake up call. This “shawl/wrap/bandana” was in fact a sarong. I hadn’t ever heard of a sarong. It turns out that several of the Canadians we were camping with had some of their own, and let me in on the wonders that they truly possess. Simple, fashionable, comfortable, they are arguably the best thing to happen to fashion since the toga. Since then I have bought and been given many sarongs. I wear one almost every day at home. I used to walk around the house in my boxers and a t-shirt, which is kind of grubby and crude looking. The sarong and t-shirt is neither grubby nor crude.
All you men out there, go get a sarong. If you sleep in the nude, it is the best thing you’ll have ever bought. When you need to get up in the middle of the night, and don’t want to risk running into someone in the nude, it’s easy to put on, and even easier to take off. Those midnight bathroom trips are quick and easy.
Not to mention, I fucking hate pants. My balls can’t breathe.