Obsessive Garlic Disorder

I developed a serious case of this newly identified (to me) syndrome this past weekend.

I attended Mooseman: a precompression Burning Man regional event. Five days of survival camping in the forest of Haliburton. No water. No electricity.

The first 36 hours of the event were like a roller coaster of new experiences - both positive and negative, both personal and interpersonal. The first night I met some truly lovely people around a very large fire held in a large circle of stones. The following day I experienced a few interactions that were less than ideal. My physical challenges were brought home to roost and I considered leaving in case they worsened. The team of onsite Rangers helped mediate what was a challenging and baffling situation for me and I ended up staying due to their support. Two of the 10 Burning Man principles were driven into me throughout the beginning part of my experience at Mooseman:  Radical self-reliance and Radical inclusion.

On the Saturday of the event after I had rested (I was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster and physical demands of survival camping set up!) I ventured back to the sacred circle. I was told that there was garlic braiding down at the main house (the owner of the property) and that it was a lot of fun.  I decided I would rather take a walk through the forest which was set up with four theme camps and I wanted to see what they looked like in their finished state (I saw the skeletons of these camps on a Thursday night walk about).

The effort put into these theme camps is dumbfounding and humbling. One of the camps, Powder Monkeys, had a pirate theme and the decorations and plounges were so creative. This camp also hosted a Baconade on the Sunday morning and everyone who participated in that achieved Peak Bacon. There were two types of bacon, bacon dip, bacon brownies, bacon apple pie, bacon/cheese roll-ups, bacon chocolate chip rice krispies, etc.

On the way into the forest there was a Toga Toll Camp. These lovely people provided a candy tray that they also took throughout the event at times. There was bug spray on offer and other provisions if needed. Did I mention that all Burning Man events operate on a gift economy basis? No money exchanges hands. Every participant is expected to gift what they can and high octane volunteerism is the norm.

I didn't spend as much time as I would've like to at the Big Rig Rockin Robin's Truck Stop Jamboree. They had built a replica of a truck complete with a truck stop diner and a country store that I shoplifted a pocket knife from (I had lost mine). They had some fine trombone jamming happening on Saturday night when I was there.

Lastly there was a Hammock Camp at the end of the forest trail. Peace and tranquility was found in one of the hammocks hanging there :)

On Sunday afternoon after dancing in the forest for a few hours to some wonderful beats I remembered the garlic braiding and wandered down to the main house (past the coffee cafe which served delicious free coffee all weekend long!). Outside of the house was a circle of chairs and instruments of garlic disorder. I stood and asked the three people about what was going on and shared a bit of my food justice passion with them. Doug, the owner of the property, saw a fellow food spirit and he eagerly invited me to sit down and try cleaning some garlic myself. Silvie, another Mooseman attendee, patted a chair and proceeded to show me how to clean the garlic (rub the stalk and bulb with love to remove the dirt, trim the hairy end and brush out the dirt). In the course of learning this new skill, Doug, Silvie, another young man and I got into a wonderful conversation that alternated between philosophy, therapy, camaraderie and hilarity.

After a few minutes of this pleasant learning - interactive engagement Doug became perturbed while I was talking. I wasn't staying on task since I use my hands while I talk. He told Silvie to take me down to the shed to see the enormity of the garlic cleaning task at hand.

Have you ever seen 1700 bulbs of garlic in various stages of 'processing'? Doug had already informed us that it takes 20 passes through human hands to fully process garlic (now you know why most of it comes from China since it is so labour intensive!). So when I rounded the corner into the shed I saw how massive the operation was and how many uncleaned bulbs there were - well, that was when the disorder struck me.

I returned with Silvie and spend the next few hours mastering the art of conversing while cleaning garlic bulbs at a steady rate. I was rewarded with a fine meal from Lynn (Doug's partner) that included potatoes freshly harvested from their garden and the opportunity to braid my very own set of bulbs which I later purchased on my way out of the event.  The ideas, love, inspiration and garlic imbued soulfulness of the experience will last my lifetime. In fact, the whole weekend will. The final of the 10 principles of Burning Man was cemented into my heart that afternoon and sealed with the burning of the Moose effigy that night:

Immediacy

Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience. (source)

Unbraided but cleaned fruits of our Obsessive Garlic Disorder

The Power Privilege

At this time of year I cherish each sunny day.  There are the obvious reasons for this since having passed the autumnal equinox in my patch of the globe the number of daylight hours is rapidly shrinking.  And the not so obvious reason like laundry.

A couple of years ago my ancient dryer decided to stop working.  That was fine by with me since it rarely got used.  I moved into this house 8.5 years ago and brought with me my spanking new energy efficient dryer.  The movers quickly discovered that the basement doorway was too narrow to get it down to the official laundry room.  At the time this was a small crisis.  But I made do.  The old dryer worked but was never very efficient so I started hanging my clothes to air dry nearly from the start of moving into this house.  I basically used the old dryer for sheets in the winter and 'emergency' loads.  So when it stopped working altogether that didn't phase me.  Sheets can air dry too and if you set up your house to accomodate this then it is not a huge problem.  It is important to note that I live in a two person household so I have the luxury of space and small laundry usage that a bigger household does not.

In the fall I hang up wash loads on my outside line with grateful appreciation to the dimming autumnal sun.  Each fall load I hang I hope for enough heat and wind to dry.  I check weather reports to see if leaving it out overnight is feasible in case the day doesn't provide ideal conditions for a quick dry.  In the summer these matters are moot and I often squeeze three washloads on the line in one day.

As I checked the weather last night before putting on a load of laundry I chuckled at how the time of use power changes here in Toronto have radically altered my household hydro usage.  I was raised in a house that demanded lights were turned off when the room was not in use and I have done the same.  The smart meter changes have demanded a little more sophistication.  My dishwasher and washing maching never get run during prime hours.  In fact the only power that I use during prime hours is this computer and sometimes making dinner (and my fridge and freezer).  And often dinner manages to be late enough to avoid the premium (we tend to eat on european hours in this house, especially during the summer months).  I have room air conditioners that also see some use during the summer months during heat waves.

There is a provincial election this week in Ontario and one of the big topics has been the increase in our hydro bills due to the current government implementing a harmonized tax.  The other side of this debate is the smart meters themselves since they have not been implemented throughout Ontario yet and the other parties are calling them a cash grab by the incumbent party.

This kind of doublespeak confuses me.  My own experience since the smart meter was installed AND the harmonized tax was implemented has been that my hydro bills have gone slightly down.  About 5-10%.  To me this is quite satisfying knowing that the small changes in my behaviour have allowed a modest decrease to my household budget AND have helped to smooth out peak power demands.

We all know too well the saying that "power corrupts".  If we apply this idiom to hydro usage we see that it not only corrupts but blindsides a population that is all too unwilling to make small changes towards ending our reliance on carbon based energy.

Remarkably unremarkable.

I poured over a series of books in my childhood.  I couldn't get enough of finding out the mundane details of Midwest American Pioneer life from the viewpoint of a girl who aged throughout the series, going from just below my age to a young married mom.

My formative years were spent reading.  The pages of the books in this particular series became dog eared and the binding on the paperbacks started cracking.  And, similar to the Velveteen Rabbit, the books became living things to me.  I absorbed the day-to-day life details by osmosis since they were incidental to the real (and somewhat autobiographical) stories portrayed in the books.

As childhood slipped away and more sensational authors like Erica Jong joined my list of reading pleasures (nice pun eh?) the pioneer series was shelved.

In the last few years I've thought often of these books.  I even found a book outlining the detailed biography of the author and her daughter.  I was disappointed to learn that the book series I was so fond of was actually a happier version of what really happened in her life and that soon after the 'ending' of the series, the author's life took a few nasty turns and life remained quite challenging for much of her young adult life.  She didn't actually write the books until the onset of her senior years with the encouragement of her daughter who had herself become a successful professional writer.

In the mid-70s, this book series was destroyed [imho] by the turning of it into a long running and horribly inaccurate tv series that continues to deliver residuals to it's producers.  By definition, television has to be remarkable to maintain ratings and on it's own this series just didn't have enough to sustain the 10 seasons it ended up running (and a multitude of spin offs).  I suffered through a few episodes and found the characters horribly misaligned with my firmly implanted characterizations from the years spent reading and rereading these tomes. I actually now point to that series as the beginning of the end of my television watching days.

There is something to be said for ordinary.  How did a pioneer family heat their house?  How did they go 'grocery' shopping?  What happened during the holidays?  How did they talk to their teachers?  What was their dinner time routine?  What happened when family came for a visit?  How did they prepare their food (my favourite parts!)?  How did they socialize with friends?

This is the sort of thing that I found remarkable as an eight - twelve  year old girl.  And over thirty years later, I find  it remarkable at how such unremarkable plot lines continue to resonate in the very core of my being.