Thursday December 11, 2008

This was year 7 as Camp Daddy, now known as Benevolent Dictator. This wrap-up dialogue is my way to express from my heart what an amazing community we build and to give thanks to those that helped make it happen. Each year I am amazed and overwhelmed at the outpouring of Love & Sweat by so many people within our camp. I am taken aback by those that give even when they are not PolyParadise campers or give to the community even if the Playa is not in their travel plans.

Here-in are my THANK YOU's for Burning Man 2008...This list in not an all-inclusive list and if I left someone or something out it is not because I was unaware of your contribution it is just a minor oversight. EACH ONE OF YOU HAD A PART AND A HAND IN MAKING US THE SUCCESS WE WERE!!

To those that camped elsewhere or who were unable to make BM this year, your spirit was always part of PolyParadise, and know that you are deeply missed & loved in this group.

A VERY SPECIAL thanks goes out to the awesome Arizona group of PolyCampers!!!! David, Dawn, Hatchethead, Redeye, Jaymie & Jim for coming by on Truck Loading Day. With your assistance we got the truck loaded in 3 hours. Long gone are the days that Scotto does it himself...YEAH!!! You guys are GREAT! Other Arizona campers include Ray, Peter, Joanne, Tonto, Twist, Sarah & Spencer who did not make it to the Playa.

A special thanks to all the Playa Virgins that decided to make PolyParadise their First Home on the Playa. I hope your experience was awesome and that Burning Man, The Playa, BRC and the rest of us instilled in you a LOVE for the last week of August and that your excitement will have you camping again with us next year. Each of you gave & gave & gave of your time & effort and we all Thank You...

By deepest thanks to the Campers for whom we did have room for. I appreciated that you all banded together and formed Satellite Camp. I did my very best to make you feel part of the community regardless of the distance.

The first thank you will always go to my partner WildChild. Her enthusiasm & Love of all things Burning Man & PolyParadise makes the all-year-round effort that is our life so much more fun & enjoyable. Without her, for me, this would all just be another camping trip.

I am so pleased that we continue to have an International flavor to our mix. Thank you Canadians, New Zealanders & Europeans. We love your accents and your commitment to Community.

Many, Many thanks to all of our Early Arrival crew. Kudos go out to Blackfish, Tailfeather, Keith, Lenel, Stagger, HypnoBurn, Twist, Brotherluv, Passout, Jayme, Redeye & Uncle Bob for their tireless efforts to get the camp erected and all system connected. You guys ROCK!!! By sundown Sunday we had all of the shade structures in place.

MANY, MANY thanks go to the most amazing takedown crew we have ever had. There were so many people that stayed we had the truck packed and our Playa Space MOOPED by 1p. Those folks include: Twist, Ben, Carl, _Greg, Yonderman, Jayne, Passout, Jayme, Dawn, Redeye, Floss, Keith, Lenel, Stagger, HypnoBurn, Aruelia, Dio, Scix, Blackfish, April, Stephanie, Mark, Tailfeather, UncleBob, Trouble, Rebecca, Troy, GBear, Autowitch, Joe, Arlene and so many others. THANK YOU ALL!!! Both WildChild & I appreciate your efforts.

Thanks to WildChild, David, Dawn, Whiteout for their artists talents in creating the PolyParadise signs. Special thanks to Hatchet Head for creating the EL-Wire design for this year.

Thanks to everyone who provided & prepared food for Community Meals, Washing Dishes, all who helped out when it was needed, for taking garbage home with you, for knowing what building community & sharing community is all about. A special thanks to HypnoBurn for continuing to be the Master Blaster of the kitchen.

Blackfish - Thank you my brother, it was so awesome to camp with you and get to hang and shoot the shiat! Thanks for your Early Arrival assistance.

Speaking of Uncle Bob, I am so glad that you came out to visit us in April and we took you to a Burner Event. I knew as I saw your eyes light up that night that the Playa would be an amazing space for you. I am also glad that you will be visiting us for the holidays and looking to move here to Arizona. Thanks so much for all you did during the week, I appreciate you my friend.

Thanks to Passout, Redeye, Jayme & others who went on the ice run each day. Thanks to Jeff & George and others who assisted with the Cooler drain & repack ritual we play each day.

Thanks from both WildChild & I to Jeff for the massage you gave each of us. That was a wonderfully most gracious gift.

Thank you to Troy & Rebecca for your company, the light that shines around McKenna and of course the Bus. That for providing a place to escape the dust.

Thanks to Fred, Uncle Bob & Dave for assisting me with Trash Can Turkey.

The most SPECIAL THANKS is reserved for my Partner & Wife WildChild!!! Your love of everything Burning Man, Community, Hard Work, artistic talent and love of people is inspiring. Never let that light dim.

Thanks to everyone who lead a Poly High Tea, sharing your thoughts and experiences with the group is a very special gift! Thank YOU! We had standing room only during the discussions. There was at least 40 people in the discussion each day...

The Carcass Wash...Many thanks go to _Greg, Trouble and others for heading up the Human Carcass Wash, for recruiting folks each day to help man & run the event, setup & cleanup. A HUGE THANKS to everyone else who helped with Setup & Cleanup and to those that ran the event each day.

Thank you to all our PolyParadise Fire Spinners...Troy, Rebecca, GBear, Foxy, Tree and others. You ALL ROCK!!!

Thanks to Tobias, Paxus, Angie for hosting five amazing events that drew huge crowds each day. We hope that you choose to camp with us again.

Thanks & Many Many Kudos to Tailfeather & Twist for collaborating on an amazing shower base and structure.

Thanks to Twist for rigging up the water pumps to whoosh the water from the Kitchen Sink & the Shower to the Holding Tank.

How about that Holding Tank...Thanks so much to Sani-Hut for providing us a service on the Playa that was just music to our ears and cash in your pockets. There is no doubt that in future years we continue to use this worry and stress free system.

PPaRRot - Thank you so much for the Beacon. It was incredible and could be seen from across the entire Open Playa. I hope that BRC '09 is in your travel plans cause I can't wait to see Beacon 2.0.

Thanks to Tailfeather & Keith for tirelessly working together to erect the PPPP and for everyone who assisted in decorating and maintaining it all week. Thank you to Tailfeather for the Dome Beacon. Having 2 Ariel navigation points made finding camp from the Playa very easy.

Thank you to Stagger for heading up the Garbage area and bagging of said garbage for proper hauling Off-Playa. I appreciate everyone who assisted in dealing with the garbage during the week and am most grateful for each and every person who took garbage Off-Playa. Thank YOU!

Thank you to Twist for building the Community Water Cooler Stand. It worked awesome!! Thanks to Passout & Dawn for painting help.

Thank you to Trouble for understanding that there was no room to erect the dome he had brought. I appreciate your sacrifice. This dome was to be housing for Autowitch & Trouble. I know that I put you both out and I am grateful that you rolled with the punches and made the best of it. Thanks to Uncle Bob for sharing his tent with Autowitch, you have a good heart Uncle Bob.

Thanks to each of you that parked your vehicles around the corner and down the road. I appreciate you being able to go with the flow and make the best of it.

This is now a 10-Year journey for me, this road we all walk down, this road leads to Community, this road leads to PolyParadise. I am so very proud year after year how so many people, from so many different locations around the globe can come together and create such an amazing space. PolyParadise 2008 Rocked the socks!!. We carve out a utopia in the desert, a place to grow and enhance our lives. I hope that camping with PolyParadise means as much to all of you as it does for me.

Over the past 7 years we have had an amazing journey together. There are so many people that touch my heart each year, it is worth all the headaches, all the hard work...It is worth all the effort when I see smiles on the faces of all those that camp within our borders...But it is all of you that create the Utopia we know as PolyParadise and for that I THANK ALL OF YOU!!! I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!

Only 262 days until we Burn again. Each of those days will have thoughts of all you and how good I feel having each of you as my friends and part of my family.

Scotto
- Camp Daddy
- Benevolent Dictator PolyParadise
- Burning Man Lifer/Geek/Zealot