Alison has really good host qualities. I won't say Mercury and Venus were terrible hosts or hosts of any kind, but I don't recall either of them offering me a glass of water or much else very often on previous visits. I had barely met Alison four days ago, and here she was offering me a glass of water and a bowl of Turkey chili.
I find that interesting because Mercury came back recently from the Burning Man in the Black Desert, whose culture he said is one of giving. Interesting--I have hosted at least 25 groups of cyclists this year through Warmshowers--I didn't go to Burning Man. Yes, I experienced the generosity of trail angels while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2015, but even before that, I was hosting Warmshowers cyclists.
On September 17 2016, Mercury asked me in a text if he could come to my house and see my hammocks, as he was shopping. Mercury had gone camping on the coast and coming back through my town to get home, dropping by my house to view hammocks would be extremely convenient. It's all about Mercury. I set up about four or five hammocks--after lying in each for a few minutes, Mercury chose a favorite. He didn't take it home. He said he wanted a hammock in a bright color because of his declining vision. I said that an under quilt would hide much of the hammock and that a brightly colored tarp would help him find camp. Instead of going home, he appealed to me to field check his backpack to see where he could reduce weight. Almost every item I suggested tossing, Mercury made a passioned defense for it. Example: he had two epi pens in his first aid kit, not for his own use, but for use on others. Total weight savings: one pound. Mercury confirmed that Venus was travelling, (with her around, I knew he'd wouldn't have stopped by so late--"hey, Mercury, she has you on a short chain, eh"). The glaring omission: no personal locator beacon--glaring because if you're far from the trailhead and you need and evacuation, a hefty first aid kit won't summon that chopper. While Mercury visited for those 5 hours, I served him glasses of Aberdeen's delicious tasting tap water and my brown rice and lentils. Finally, about 11 p.m. he left.
I sent Mercury a note several days later to determine if he still wanted to buy a hammock. He accepted the price at $70.00, (the equivalent Warbonnet Outdoors hammock) & picked the color; I made the hammock and brought it to his house on somewhat short notice (I had to go to Urgent Care in their city). Their friends Allison and Sally were present for a sleepover. I showed Mercury how to use the suspension. I almost left, but I wanted to see....
...The ukuleles. I don't get it. Some woman who owns a violin shop in Las Vegas gave Mercury a $400 Eastman concert size ukulele--solid mahogany throughout. Is she angling for Mercury's hand? He doesn't play the uke--things that come to us without our putting forth any effort to acquire them have no value to us. He can't travel with it because leaving it in his van on a hot day could damage it. Instead, he bought a $30.00 soprano ukulele at a flea market--it sounds OK, but Mercury's fingers are too big for it. Mercury taped chord charts to the soprano. I showed him the three chords for Woody Guthrie's " this land is your land." He didn't look too enthused--it wasn't rock and roll.
A day or two later, I texted him from home suggesting that he gift the little ukulele to someone with small fingers. No response. Maybe that wasn't consistent with the giving economy of Burning Man.
Today I dropped by to gift Mercury a couple of closed loops, for those short hammock hangs. I could have given him the hammock for free, but I pointed out: easy come=no value.
I'd forgotten Allison had moved in with Mercury and Venus. What a nice person I saw in Allison. I inquired not what happened to Allison's living situation, but I was impressed that Mercury and Venus took her in.
That's Burning Man.
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