Cherish – a : to hold dear : feel or show affection for b : to keep or cultivate with care and affection : nurture
2: to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely

A word that changed his life after looking it up when he realized he had heard it too many times at friends’ weddings and found it usually went unnoticed.

Burning man is in his being, setting up camps, planning, co-existing in a creative world that was once and will never be the same again.

His dad was not fit after the Vietnam war left him with PTSD and with a fairly absent mother, he was left to fend for himself as were his 2 younger sisters.

He works for Apple, programming, while his left brain exudes creativity through photography. Moonlighting with a couple of DJ’s, he has figured out a way to program certain lights to sync to the beats they throw down from the comforts of his Ipad. A quest for knowledge of the intricacies of technology adds to his thirst for beauty.

We met at the parking lot entrance of Venice Beach. “the pier or the nature reserve?” I believe were my choices. I spun around in circles until I pointed to the left. His eyes were light blue, a thick head of locks beginning to grey atop his tall frame relieved me as my curiosity grew. Coffee was a must after my class and to begin this “meet and greet” of sorts and a stroll along the pier. We sat on a bench watching the birds flock to the newly caught fish tossed for their belly-filling pleasure. He’s sweet, calm, interested.

There were a few lulls in the conversation but that’s to be expected when only in the proximity of mere moments, though the flow was constant as we veered left, right, over and under a barrage of topics. Nothing was taboo, not even suckling the milk from a woman at a pretend “milking station” at a state fair.. like I said.. nothing was off limits.

It was easy, maybe because I wasn’t feeling 100% so the pressure to preform was released or just the confidence I had in myself in those moments? Whatever the case, I felt content just being me, without apologizing for it.

Our cups emptied and our stroll continued through the canals, passing by the few remaining caterpillars in the reserve. Still free-flowing our endless stream of consciousness.

With our winding footsteps finding our way to Abbott Kinney and our bladders filling, we stopped to gorge on veggies and empty our space at Lemonade. 3 hours passed and still we were engaged. Not a bad way to meet a new…

I took him back to his house in Santa Monica as he had walked from a Marina Burning Man meeting and was left without. He had to light up the stage that evening at a rave, I guess, later on, which I was invited to but with the sickness entering my nasal passages, I took a rain check.

I’ll see him again 🙂