A Budget Safari Through an Errant Mind

My heart went out to Hagey after hearing of the fire at his place early in the morning of 8th April.

The fires cooked both of the RVs which were stuffed with all the gear used by campers passing through. All those blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, tents used by the Hostel are crispy, charred cinders.

For those of you that don’t know Hagey, he is a Burning Man legend, founder, and main mast of The Black Rock International Burner Hostel. Over the past several years he has enabled thousands of people from all over the world to gain a relatively easy path into Burning Man with the limitations of bringing everything one needs on a flight and getting supplies into the middle of the desert; he not only runs the theme camp on the Playa (with nearly 150 members each year), but also operates an open house throughout the year to any that need it. Over the years he has sunk thousands of dollars and millions of nerve endings into this very unique project and is much loved and respected by a huge number of people.

He predictably refused any offers of financial help:

Hagey here, alive and well, in spite of the close call!

Thanks so much for the concern, but, please, I do not wish to seem like a charity case. This is a big personal loss, but I am a proud and independant man, the loss will be partially offset by insurance, and I do not wish to be making any public appeals for money.

In the Grand Scheme of Things, this is small potatoes in comparison to the types of awful tragedies other people have endured.

Please don’t pursue the Paypal account thing, ok?

Thank you, and now I will get back to my cleanup efforts.

Love, Lust, Playa Dust, and Playful Perversion

Tom Price eventually persuaded him to accept donations due to the sheer number of people wishing too; and allowed the use of a Burners Without Borders PayPal account.  The result:

This is why I love Burners, and some of the contributors had never met him. As Tom wrote, “people change when people take time to hold a mirror up to their actions, and let them see themselves. And that’s exactly what’s happening now–you’re holding a mirror up to Hagey, and what he’s seeing is simply beautiful”.

Jo and I missed out on this, as PayPal takes five days to clear direct from a bank account but will be adding even extra to the camp fee contributions as usual.

Extra special thanks to Tom for his time and effort, and Fred - expect a long overdue Playa Knighthood this year.

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