Sad news

I haven't posted since I came back from Freedom Gathering because of some sad news. When I got back, there was a message that Ricky Bjugan, who has been fighting cancer for several months, was deteriorating rapidly. I planned to go see him the next day, but he died before I could go. I feel very bad that I had not made more of an effort to see him recently. It's so hard for me to visit anyone in a hospital or nursing home. Ricky knew this - he felt the same way.

I knew Ricky for nearly 26 years. We met in 1978 at the 6th precinct for gaming, and at Little Tin Soldier. I met Paul through Ricky, because of Ricky. I don't know of too many people in the Pagan community who had known him longer. I regret that I could not be more part of his life towards the end, but I knew his coven and other friends were seeing to his needs, as much as anyone could.

Ricky's memorial service is next weekend. Anyone who doesn't have the details and wants them, please email me.

Freedom Gathering Report, finally

We had a pleasant drive down; I did most of the driving down. We had supper at Culver's in La Crosse, and got to Sweetwood about 7:20 pm. (NOTE TO FUTURE SELF: always take the route in through LaFarge. More on that later.)

We got set up in about an hour, Martin did more of the work than me. Sat around and talked with Jack and Kim for a while. Mary and company didn't show up until around 10:30, and it took them quite a while to set up in the dark.

Thursday was mostly either walking around or sitting looking at the woods and unwinding and fantasizing. I really needed a whole day doing next to nothing. More people came in, a few at a time, through the day and in the evening. No distinct memories of Thursday, just a feeling of relaxation and the visions of green and growing things.

Friday during the day was mostly more of the same. Friday evening was a pleasant opening ritual that Mary planned, celebrating the senses. I think it worked quite well.

Saturday morning was an interesting talk/discussion, led by Ken Heronheart, who has lost about 70 pounds in the last year, and has become a personal trainer. Hung out and talked to Kris and Larry for a while after that. Then it started raining. And raining. And raining. The rest of the day was mostly spent under the big tent, or in little tents

T-Roy managed to do the group Tarot reading by breaking us into smaller groups – 4 groups of 4 or 5. Not the same as when it is fewer people who all know each other. I think she wanted to demonstrate it, rather than get very personal readings. The rain continued. It slacked long enough to throw together dinner, then it rained more. The Symposium was under the tent. The drumming was under the tent.

It poured during the night. Neither of us was very happy. However, I was able to keep from panicking, and keep things in perspective. My purse was in the car and wouldn't get wet. Everything in the tent was either made to get wet, or wouldn't be harmed, or could be replaced. We never got wet enough to keep from sleeping, though the noise from the rain kept me awake some.

Sunday morning, it was beginning to clear, and it got sunnier through the day. The Sweetwood meeting was very informative. I am interested in the land, and its development. Things are slow, but steady. There is a new outhouse, which is both attractive and very useful. There are plans to build a permanent shelter this fall. Governance is spreading so it isn't just Jack and Kim.

Sunday night was the main ritual. It had echoes of the first rituals I attended at the first festivals I attended, including a couple of very old chants. Old, hell, is twenty years old? I guess I'm feeling my elderhood.

Watched fireworks for a while, including some Martin set off, then went to the ritual circle again for a bit. Good dancing and drumming, good energy.

There we a number of events I did not attend, so this is not in any way a comprehensive report, just bits from my journal.

Monday was mostly clear. Martin did a lot of the work of packing. We were done before the water sharing ritual, and were able to leave shortly after. We decided to try the way through Viola for a change, and got lost twice. We had to drive quite a distance over gravel roads, and ended up at the "if you've got to this road, you took the wrong turn" point. We took the wrong turn trying to retrace our path as well, and ended up coming to an asphalt road, finally, that was totally unfamilar. We took bearings by the sun, and turned, and lo and behold, a few minutes later came into LaFarge. From there, it was easy.

We stopped in Westby for cheese, and at the Hungry Peddler in La Crosse for an excellent and much needed lunch. I drove the whole way home and was quite fried. It took two days to finish unpacking the car because it rained most of Tuesday.

While away, realized I have a lot I want to say, therefore a lot to write. I want to think about and communicate, at least to Kris and a few others, what my personal vision of CAW has been over the years. The problem turns out that it is easy to think about when I'm there, but not so easy when I'm back in the city. CAW is one of my oldest Pagan connections, but it has changed so much, I can hardly recognize it. Sweetwood, which is no longer part of CAW, is closer to my ideals.