beat the heat

The Shade crew was out early today — really early —  so you’ll be able to grab some shade when you get here.

There’s a lot to do. All the big sites on Ring Road need super-sized shade, so when you’re checking messages in Playa Info, say, or maybe picking out a new outfit in the Burner Boutique, or checking out the studios of BMIR, you won’t have to do it in the burning sun.

It was a little jarring to see the crews working so early. “What are YOU doing up so early?” Bunny asked when we ambled over. “Did we wake you up”

The crew got some major work done even before the sun came up, and then even more before they had to break to go to the “morning” meeting at the Depot. “I wish they didn’t call it the morning meeting,” one of the people on the crew said. “They should just say, ‘meeting.'”


They’re a proud, hard-working bunch, that Shade crew. The early start was to get a jump on the day before the heat really kicked in. “It’s not bad getting off by 2,” Bunny said.

You might see their truck, “Priscilla,” rolling along during the DPW parade during the event. If you’ve enjoyed some of the fruits of the Shade crew’s labor by then, you might want to gift them a beer or two.

Oh My God and Bunny

"Priscilla" rolled into the "morning" meeting

 

The Shade crew was acknowledged by Cobra Commander for work above and beyond the call.

About the author: John Curley

John Curley (that's me) has been Burning since the relatively late date of 2004, and in 2008 I spent the better part of a month on the playa, documenting the building and burning of Black Rock City in words and pictures. I loved it, and I've been doing it ever since. I was a newspaper person in a previous life, and I spent many years at the San Francisco Chronicle. At the time I left, in 2007, I was the deputy managing editor in charge of Page One and the news sections of the paper. Since then, I've turned a passion for photography into a second career. I shoot for editorial, commercial and private clients. I've also taught a little bit, including two years at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and a year at San Francisco State University. I live on the San Mateo coast, just south of San Francisco in California.

3 Comments on “beat the heat