What was the best gift you ever got at Burning Man?

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:38 am

abundant moist SSSSEEEXXXXX!!!!!

The gift that goes both ways: coming and going!

Major Mallet · Post by **Major Mallet** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:30 am

It is great to read about all of the truly wonderful things that happen on the playa. I am experiencing the good gifting vibes and I still have never even been to a burn yet. I have been enthusiastically telling my friends about my upcoming journey to the playa and been "gifted" twice. One friend is good with metal and whipped up 4 rebar tent stakes for me and another gave me an expensive (and letâ€™s say difficult to find in the US) cigar to enjoy when I visit the Havana room. It is really cool when people go out of their way for you simply because they are excited about the journey you are about to take. I just can not wait to get there.

orangepeelmoses · Post by **orangepeelmoses** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:46 pm

ice cream from the ice cream truck
(Freezing Man)
was pretty damn good,
but as far as physical keepsakes go...
a small brass piece pipe shaped like the man:)

opm

echohaus · Post by **echohaus** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:23 am

While I try not to think in terms of "best", as it tends to diminish the value of any of the other gifts I received, there are some that particularly stand out.

Most notably, the freedom from dreaming.
Only during a post-Burn get together with my campmates did I realize that I had not had a single dream during my entire time; not only that, but I wasn't the only one in our camp to have this experience.

The freedom from cellphones, computers, mail, newspapers, etc. was a great gift.

The most intimate gift came from a goddess who rode on our art car. We had stopped the car out by Best's temple, and several of us were just out wandering around; she pulled me toward her, and said, "let's have a grand playa kiss," then proceeded to set me on fire with one good, long, serious kiss.
While I'm sure I wasn't the only kiss she delivered that week, that one was for me, and me alone.

I have a picture of her, that I took with her camera. As I have not been able to get back since '04, that picture--and that kiss--have lasted me a very, very long time.

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:17 pm

A toothless grin.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:10 pm

[quote="Major Mallet"]What was the best gift you ever received at Burning Man?[/quote]

Herpes, genital warts, LSD flashbacks, attitude.

The Bass · Post by **The Bass** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:09 am

Mensen, are you doing some kind of performance art here?

Portrait of the cranky dude?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:41 am

the great smiles, waves and bling gifts from k's of people that like my music machine..

makes my heart feel a thrill when almost everyone on a street starts to dance as i roll by..

i wil try to do better next year

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:47 am

[quote="The Bass"]Mensen, are you doing some kind of performance art here?

Portrait of the cranky dude?[/quote]

No. I cannot tell you how many people I know who go to their local clinics on the day after labor day for 1)std's 2)day after pill 3)treatment of antibiotics, just in case. Dust and condoms don't mix well.

Also, if I see one more guy offer my camp X, I am going to throw up. And what is up with these LSD taking white trash hippies? How did they get the cash to come to bm.

If I sound cranky or mean it is because I am mad that my friends are not "holier" than me in that they finally "got" bm (sure, 7 days of mushrooms will do it.) This year is my last year. I am done. $45K for a camp and all I got was pissing burners and aggressive twits grabbing my wife's breasts. What is going on here? Who are these new people that have come in. When I started going the crowds were small and people respectful. Now it is just like going to a soccer game in England where everyone is toasted an aggressive.

If I sound mean I am actually sad at the loss that I see.

madmatt · Post by **madmatt** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:14 pm

mensen wrote:
The Bass wrote:Mensen, are you doing some kind of performance art here?

Portrait of the cranky dude?
No. I cannot tell you how many people I know who go to their local clinics on the day after labor day for 1)std's 2)day after pill 3)treatment of antibiotics, just in case. Dust and condoms don't mix well.

Also, if I see one more guy offer my camp X, I am going to throw up. And what is up with these LSD taking white trash hippies? How did they get the cash to come to bm.

If I sound cranky or mean it is because I am mad that my friends are not "holier" than me in that they finally "got" bm (sure, 7 days of mushrooms will do it.) This year is my last year. I am done. $45K for a camp and all I got was pissing burners and aggressive twits grabbing my wife's breasts. What is going on here? Who are these new people that have come in. When I started going the crowds were small and people respectful. Now it is just like going to a soccer game in England where everyone is toasted an aggressive.

If I sound mean I am actually sad at the loss that I see.

Bummer dude. You should have camped with us! Mystical Misfits.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:52 pm

I treasure my "Miracle Train Baby" name tape.

Batmoose · Post by **Batmoose** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:07 pm

I recieved a personal code to a private porta potty.

best. Gift. ever.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:24 pm

A handmade silver necklace made on the Car-B-Q with glass powder in the design.

A ride on the Sandcrawler to see Mutaytor and Crude Awakening.

Camping in Gigville waking up in a duststorm to JetFuels wonderful music.

Sleeping on a couch under the stars looking at Uberman.

A ride to Reno after being ditched on the playa by Richard Brieger when my RSD / neuropathy started acting up.

Everything and Everyone else at BM07.

I will try to list more wheN I get back to FL.

stuart · Post by **stuart** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:57 am

a thank you

waterlyric · Post by **waterlyric** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:16 am

I received so many wonderful gifts that it's hard to choose just one... So I won't! I think my #1 favorite was seeing the double rainbow after Friday's tremendous dust storm. After sheltering myself inside of a very hot and dusty tent for who knows how long, the rain and resulting rainbows were the ultimate gift. Other, more tangible gifts that I immensely enjoyed were my Nevada Barbarians necklace from Erica, and the drink of water and foot rub from a stranger on the playa following the burn. I love my fellow burners!

jobi · Post by **jobi** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:02 pm

I'd like to extend a thank you once again to the woman (I forgot your name) who gifted me a new, battery powered, multi-speed vibrating bullet when I was bartending at the Lamplighter Lounge. It's gotten some great use already, and more to come. Thanks!

kikidelosfeliz · Post by **kikidelosfeliz** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:55 pm

First gift:

The playa gods saw fit to put a man carrying a banjo in my path in 2004 (at 4th & E). I asked him to play me a song. We now live together and have a little girl, our burning baby Brigid. I am mostly enormously grateful.

Second gift:

Me and my boyfriend (banjoman) come back in 2007, in our vintage RV. Which, along with our vintage genny, refuses to start. Enter JET FUEL, sporting the hugest grin I've ever seen on a person that dusty, who works on the genny for a couple of hours. Gets her running, which makes our week. RV eventually started too. And our random camp neighbors became our campmates and fast friends. We shared lots of food, drink, stories. They helped batten down our stuff during the first dust storm, when we'd become complacent.

None of these "gifts" was a thing.

I think the best gift to give is something of yourself.

That said, everyone professed to love my dogtags, which are images of the man and change every year (man with Icarus wings in 2004, man as tree with leaves for 2007). For the upcoming theme, though, it might have to be the man with a dollar sign.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:10 pm

I got my 20 year sobriety chip from the Hokey Pokey Camp this year....

It will be hard to top that gift.. This year was my 10th and I'll be placing this gift in a special spot in my house..

Thanks Hokey Pokey Camp.....

JediDale · Post by **JediDale** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:31 pm

Clearly, it was the company of Camp Apokiliptika and Terminal City! Thank You Very Much Major Mallet for your extremely wonderful sense of humor!!
You are awesome!! Getting to give 2 virgins a ride to BM during a unique year was the pinnacle of my happiness!! Also a "Best Gift" award goes out to all participants of Terminal City, as it did not have any of the shitty things happen we have read about others camps experiences.

Genuinely,

JediDale Of Reno

BigCock · Post by **BigCock** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:50 pm

I could fill a thread listing the amazing gifts I've gotten and describing the gratitude I've responded with and felt. But for now just this:

There was a 7-month old girl - Marina Rae - who loved my white gloved fingers and played with them for 20 minutes. She absolutely captivated everyone within eyesight with her innocent joy and tireless enthusiasm, grabbing one finger, then another, then two at once... Her mother, basking in the baby's glow and in the light of the sunset, was beautiful and a vision of motherly bliss. And her father, full of both humility and pride, explained that he had built the breathtaking Il Cavallo we were standing next to starting about the time the baby was born. A simple gorgeous family, together in peace, love and creative bliss. I can't imagine anything better than being in their light for those precious moments. Thank you.

karine · Post by **karine** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:12 pm

This was a miracle year of performance gifts.
(The first two might have had something to do with a new campmate who brought a gorgeous strong dayshade structure to set beside our usual dome!)

We had a violinist walk up to our group and play a ten minute concerto that brought tears to our eyes.

And another day a large group of vocalists came and sang us the most beautiful song I could have ever imagined.

And then pulling "Jack" around centre camp behind our 'Contraption' (while he played the piano). The piano guy AND the pianist - two for one gifts that brought so much joy and fun to all of us.

JNGLST66 · Post by **JNGLST66** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:47 am

Ya know I think the best gift I got at BM was the chance to be my self. To say what I want to say, feel the way I want to feel, crying if I wanted to cry. Being able to let the experience and the community in.

Being able to find my self again...

C187 · Post by **C187** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 7:22 am

I only got one 'gift' the whole week, it was a sticker of the )'( symbol. I received it when I was walking up 4 o'clock handing out beer.

fierysage · Post by **fierysage** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:28 pm

[color=indigo][/color] I think it was last year... when the gift received was actually a gift given. one of our campmates had lost her camelbak with all of her schtuff in it (not fun). Within 15 minutes, we had her outfitted with a camelbak, camera, chapstick, water, bandana, sunglasses, goggles, book, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, candy, etc. We stood around her and hugged while she cried. Phambly is an amazing gift.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 4:45 pm

was on a double-decker art car just before Crude Awakening (had a guy playing a drum kit and sand all over the floor) when I muttered to my friend "I would kill for a beer right now." A guy to my left nudged me and handed me an ice cold IPA from his little six-pack cooler slung around his shoulder. Never has a beer tasted so good as that one. Never has an act of kindness been so spontaneously right on time. Thank you mister beer guy.

I wonder if that Paul Addis face paint job I was sporting had anyhting to do with it....

ron5657 · Post by **ron5657** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:50 pm

You can't just wander around naked kissing people," he said in that concerned way men speak when they're trying to demonstrate how sensitive they are to a woman they're hoping to lay

Lol that sentence is funny!

Barbie · Post by **Barbie** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:25 pm

Bump... I Love this thread-

My best friend of 20 years came to the Playa last year!

Barbie · Post by **Barbie** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:31 pm

OOohhhh man rollliiiiinggggg laughing you have to go back to first page and read the post about Spike's by EB!!!

Troy Van Berry · Post by **Troy Van Berry** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:13 pm

My top 3.
1. 2000, the first year of the new generation pedestals under the man. I was out with my Luminator on Sunday night before the event start. The neon was not up and lit yet, so I had the man to myself to light. After a couple of hours of projecting some pretty cool colors & patterns on the man, Larry and Crimson paid us a visit and said we were doing an amazing job. The man has not been seen in the same light since.
2. Same year. Hanging out with Todd Rundgren(my personal fav) and watching the burn with his family. Priceless
3. Finding a really cool Burningman pendant hid inside my playa installation called "Hestia 2525" in '99. I still wear it! Someone liked my art and gifted me some in kind.

lordgrizz · Post by **lordgrizz** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:11 pm

The best gift I ever got on the the playa was was an otterpop.

It was my first year, and Thursday. I had got up early foolishly believing that I was going to walk the length of Blackrock City. Having been at it for hours my ass was well kicked. I was headed for home when someone yell out from their camp "hey do you want a otterpop?"

HELL YES! O sweet monkey god, that was truley perfect!

I dont think I even believed in ice anymore. I was just heat and dust made mobile. But the first sweet taste of that otterpop was like frozen bliss.

Nothing in my life was has ever been so gratefully received.

I don't know who they were, But from the bottom of my heart I thank you otterpop people!

What was the best gift you ever got at Burning Man?

burning giftage

Re: What was the best gift you ever got at Burning Man?

Best Gift

Too many to count!