One of my favorite things in life is revealing to people (particularly people who are much younger than I am) that I have been to Burning Man, not once but several times. There is always a pause, sometimes a small gasp and ineveitably, some flavor of affirmative comment- "That's so cool." "Wow, you?"
And then I smile knowingly and decide how many stories to share. And believe you me, there are stories. There's the "critical tits" bike ride when hundreds of women ride topless through the desert. There's the playa choir that I discovered my very first year and have sung with each year since. This is the most soulful, spirited choir I have ever sung with. The year that Michael Jackson died brought a particulary poignant memory. We sang an arrangement of "Man in the Middle" and many people in the crowd just sobbed. There were the epic drives in the RV and the sonic blasts from a nearby camp that woke us up in the middle of the night. (night, what night?)
Why is it so much fun to surprise people with your sordid (or savory) past. Another place where I have loved to share stories of my misspent youth is at my summer camp. I am most definitely one of the senior citizens among the staff. The young counselor staff range in age from 17 to mid 30's. There are a few older staff like me who just love the place so much they keep returning whenever they can, but for the most part it is a young crowd. These young women work hard during the day and many of them party hard at night, staying up into the wee hours of the morning. Then they wake up the next day and do it all over again. Ahhh those were the days. Indeed there were days in my youth when I was right there. I love to share the story of the night I "fell asleep" down the road at the boys camp and woke up at about 5:00 AM. In order to return to my tent without getting caught, I drove stealthily down the road, parked my car and stripped down to my underwear and a t-shirt so if someone woke up and saw me I could claim I had just gone to the bathroom. HA! My young counselor friends find the story hard to believe.
There is so much of my life that seems hard to believe now. The days when I was at the pinnacle of my career are in the rear-view mirror. No more flying thousands of miles a year, meeting with high-powered people, solving big thorny business problems. Gone are the days of speaking at large conferences and enjoying lavish dinners out with clients. Yup. Now it's pretty much dinner on the porch with my husband, my dog and a few friends. I can now indulge my passion for music and theatre. But I don't often share stories of my career with my actor friends. Who cares, really? For now, this is my life. This is me. And there will always be so many things you won't know about me.
(This post was originally penned on 8/8/20)
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