On the Road Again 2011 - Blog 24

July 1st ( Canada Day) is not a day that I go out of my way to celebrate. I am immensely proud of being a Canadian, but like most of my fellow patriots - it is not something that I spend a lot of time talking about. At the Gathering one of the first questions asked is "where are you from?". Seldom is the answer 'Canada", so when I met a fellow Canadian it is sort of a big deal. On July 1st there was a fellow Canuk walking around with a big Maple Leaf Flag. Everyone made sure that he and I connected. We made a point of talking for awhile. But for most members of the Family at a National Gathering the big day is the fourth of July.

The morning is quiet as most people try to meditate for world peace for at least  awhile. It is an impressive site to see 1,000s of people sitting quietly, all with the same focus. Of course not everyone is quiet or in other ways support this focus. But I think the majority do. Some of the more committed were there at the edge of the meadow from the moment the sun rose. Sometime near noon everyone joined hands to form some sort of rough circle. At all Gatherings this process can take some time but in Washington this process took even longer than normal as we had to circle around a large swampy area that contained some rare plants that we were asked not to walk on. We couldn't cross over this area, but had to go around it.  The meadow area was huge.  I could barely see people on the other side. As we waited for the circled to be joined, we ohmed. What a marvelous sound. To hear 1,000s of people with all of the the harmonies that evolvedis really not describable. It is as beuatiful and as sacred as any pother church music.

We all omed for awhile, and then sometime around noon the children had their parade. After that it was a party.

Lemonade and watermelons were distributed. ( which was nice as it was hot and many had been fasting since sun-up). Folks sat around and chatted, danced and sang. It was really a magical time. It is extraordinary to think that this ritual of praying for world peace and then in some strange way celebrating the birth of a nation (especially amongst people who as a rule are not, to say the least, pro-government) has be going on for 40 years. There are paradoxes within the Family and this is one of them. They pray for world peace with an intense belief in the power of a unified voice, then celebrate the birth of a nation that has seldom been a peace.

It was a fun time. I got to meet lots of people, renew some old friendships (including meeting someone from Virginia who I had meet at the World Gathering in Quebec in 2004)  and hear some of the older folks tell their stories.It is the Family at its best, or at least at its most mythological. Folks are dressed up in their brightest clothing ( or in some cases nothing at all), clothing that they brought special just for this occasion. I wear a white homemade shirt with a necklace that was given to me by a special friend. I only wear it at such events. People are relaxed. People thinking about food or fire wood or about whether the pipes from the well are working. People are just enjoying the atmosphere, enjoying being with their Family.

On the Road Again 2011 - Blog 23

For me, other than actually working in the kitchen ( which means that one gets to hang around the back of the kitchen close to the fire and occasionally get goodies such as fresh strawberries when there are not enough to go around), I am attracted to Instant Soup because of the music and the conversation. Endless amounts of it. Sometimes the conversation is just good humour banter and other times the discussion is intensely political and serious.

It is hard to explain where the time goes when one is at a Gathering--- or at least I never can. During the 10-12 days that I was there a spent part of three or four days visiting with Sally and her friends. I visited with some old friends and some new ones, and I walked around visiting other kitchens stopping to chat when there was an interesting conversation happening.  I also spent a lot of time helping ensure that there was lots of water for the kitchen and that the containers of filtered drinking water were full. It is a job that requires occasional diplomacy, little strength and even less skill. It is something that I can manage quite nicely.

Water is a precious resource everywhere but even at a Gathering it is critical. There are 1,000s of people who need water to cook with, to drink and to wash pots and pans and dishes. All of those people need to to have water that is clean, clear of all contaminates.. At Instant Soup, water that came down the lines from the springs, if it was unfiltered, it was boiled for 20 minutes. If it had come through the 4 separate filters, it was assumed to be safe. Making sure that all of the kitchens had access to water is a significant task and the guys who find the springs, and run the lines down to the various kitchens work flat out for the entire Gathering. They were still laying new lines two days before they had to take them up again. It is a job that takes a good knowledge of hydraulics and the Gathering.  The water lines can be somewhat fragile. While some of the lines are comprised of black ABS  piping, much of it is 20 foot lengths of friction fit tubes. It is a fragile system.There are times when people trip over lines and the joints separate, other times it is just the pressure that blows the lines apart. We ran out of water surprisingly often and frequently I had to follow the line until I found the break.

Sometimes the pressure in the lanes was very low, especially around supper time when every kitchen needed fresh water. Sometimes there was not enough pressure to push the water through the filters and it took 30-40 minutes to fill a five gallon jug. During those times there would be long line ups as kitchens and other folks lined up for drinking water. There was nothing to be done but just to relax and enjoy the company. Most folks were pretty good about it, but every once in a while some would get frustrated and complain. I usually reminded people that we were very fortunate to have clean water when so many people around the world had to walk for miles for dirty ditch water. Quite often I suggested that the reason why the water pressure was so low was that someone had left the toilet running or that someone was running the shower too long.

I was always surprised when sometimes someone would say in surprise " there are flush toilets around here!! Where?"

For me, other than actually working in the kitchen ( which means that one gets to hang around the back of the kitchen close to the fire and occasionally get goodies such as fresh strawberries when there are not enough to go around), I am attracted to Instant Soup because of the music and the conversation