An open THANK YOU to Save the Man camp ..

[Karma]

I'm sorry for starting another New Orleans based thread, but I just had to post this Thank you to the ppl from Save the Man camp for doing something INCREDIBLY cool .

I had 3 friends who were supposed to arrive in Reno on Thursday from New Orleans, then drive in to meet us in Black Rock. I took the bus into Gerlach to use the pay phone at Brunos to call and let them know where our camp was and any extra supplies needed.
However, I not only could not get a hold of them, but her Voicemail was'nt even picking up. I checked my own voicemail, nothing. After repeated tries, I figured they must have already passed Wadsworth and were out of cel range. Posted a sign at Playa info and headed to the Meet n Greet at BDC&WB.

After an hour or so of the usual fun and Mayhem that is the annual MnG, Doc Pyro informed me of what was happening in NO. To say it put me in a state of shock for a period would be an understatement as one of these three ppl coming in is probably the most important person in my life !
But as is typical for the human mind to do, I convinced myself that she would be Ok. Shes a Doctor who when I spoke to her last on Sunday, was on her way to work at Tulane Hospital. She would be perfectly safe there.

Of course as the week went on and news slowly trickled onto the Playa at just how bad things had and where getting in NO, my anxiety started growing. By Sat afternoon I had gone for a ride out to the Temple to just get my mind off it for awhile thinking I was just letting my imagination run away with worst case scenarios.
I was standing there taking in the Temple, looked down and the first tribute I read on the thing was in big letters "New Orleans, My God !"

That was it. I was back on my bike and headed back to camp. The plan was to separate my truck from the shade structure ( I use it as my main anchor) and drive into Cel Range since all the Phones in Gerlach are famous for there long lines.

As I'm passing Playa info, I see a sign that reads New Orleans info here.
I stop to find any current info that might convince me I'm over reacting.

As I'm reading the news, I look up and standing there 10' in front of me, is a payphone. I'm just staring at it cause it's not something you expect to see in BRC. A shiny brand new looking payphone. And someone is talking on it. It's not a prop.
I turn to the guy next to me to confirm what I'm looking at and he says yes, its a working payphone, but you dont have to put money in it or make a collect call. It's free to use for anyone who wants to find out about friends or family from NO.
They recommended not trying to call NO direct cause you wont get thru. Instead, try calling someone out of NO who your friends or family would call to let them know they're ok.

So, when my turn came, I called my Brother in So Cal who informed me they had gotten thru to her on Friday. She was Ok and was currently checked into a hotel in Houston. She had been evacuated on Thursday with the remaining staff and a bunch of patients by Military escort and was trying to get a flight to New York to meet up with her Fiance who was also supposed to come out to Black Rock with her and a friend.

Needless to say my relief was enormous.

When I hung up and turned around, the guy I had spoken to was still there. I asked him if he knew who was responsible for bringing a phone out here so ppl could find info on friends and family, and he said "we were!" and points to his shirt. They were from The Save the Man camp. The same guys we chuckle at every year on Burn night when theyre parading and protesting thru the crowd not to burn the man. "Whats he ever done to you ?!?!" .

I gave him and his friend a Huge hug and Thanked them repeatedly for giving that kind of access to anyone who needed it.

I cant even imagine what the bill was for what I assume was satellite time on that phone but it was an incredible gesture on their part and one that I'll NEVER forget.

So THANK YOU to those responsible for that phone at Save The Man camp!
Next year on Burn Night, I'll be parading with you !!!! ^_^

Sincerely,
Chris Manfredi (Lake Forest, Ca )

[bradtem]

Fear not about the cost. First of all, it wasn't a satellite this year, it was something more expensive. . Last year it was a satellite, which had been provided for many years by John Gilmore in our village. But satellite bandwidth was never great, so this year John decided to pay for a permanent microwave link to the Playa. That cost more to set up than the satellite but in the long haul will be much more efficient.

Brent and I built the phone on top of the link that John provides, and the network that's built by Clif Cox, Ralf Muehlen and some others in our village. We bought the gear, and I convince a smaller VoIP company called Broadvoice to provide the long distance service for free. That part is not that expensive -- last year the total long distance bill was only about $60, mostly from calls to mobile phones in europe, for which we have to pay airtime. As you may know, VoIP phone service for domestic calls is quite cheap, usually flat rate.

The original goal of the phone was to create something on the Playa that makes no sense to be there -- a phone, sticking out of the desert, with no wires, that lets you talk anywhere in the world free. And for those who reacted to it in that way, it was great fun. This year things chnaged a bit as many burners had a real need to reach the outside world, and I wish we had gotten the network in better shape to make that happen earlier (the wireless net had problems) but it was better when we moved it to center camp so I'm glad it worked for you, and many others who got a chance to use it. It's rare that I was there, since once it left our camp I could not monitor it as much.

In a way, once everbody knows it's real and is no longer surprised by it, it becomes less a artistic piece about the incongruity of the technology, and more just a gift to the people of the playa, but I guess both are good. We'll think of something different to do with it next time.

[ZaphodBurner]

I looked for the phone this year but didn't see it. Nevertheless, whatever the reason it's there. Thank You. It's one of those things that will linger in Burning Man history and this year it was certainly more important than anybody could have understood beforehand.

Saw it last year and, it being my virgin Burn, thought it was a just great prank and/or a stolen pay phone. Had no idea until a coworker who didn't go blurted out in the middle of the workplace "Holy shit! Check this out!"

...by the way, he came to Burning Man this year. The phone, for whatever reason, pushed him over the edge.

Great job and, again, THANK YOU.

-gatt