(previous chapter)
The RV in our caravan was having some issues and needed a new part. In addition, having had to flee the gathering in such a hurry, we wanted some extra time to catch our barrings. We pulled into a pay-to-camp campground that was outside of area now being investigated, but still inside the Apalachicola National Forest. Paid in full for our campsites for the night, the Forest Service showed up at our location and demanded we be out by 9 am, when we were paid for through to noon. We agreed, though, and they left us in peace for the most part the rest of the night.
The campground had limited showers, so some of our large group were able to get showers at this point. I had been incubating an illness acquired, I assume, from the shared cup of espresso that passed around a circle at the Hookah Lounge; pretty much everyone there had gotten sick. I contacted my grandma and asked her to wire me a little bit of money for medicine, food, and a contribution of gas for the caravan.
One of the elders, we'll call him Mr. Tea, was having an argument with one of his crew, Goose. Mr. Tea wanted Goose to gather firewood so a meal could be prepared for that night. Goose was complaining he had hemorrhoids that were acting up, indicating instead that I should do it. Mr. Tea asked if I would help gather some wood, and I said that I would, but not if Goose was also not gathering wood as I was also sick. Mr. Tea said that was fair and we were both put to work.
While gathering wood, I caught a whiff of potent marijuana coming from a camper/RV and determined I'd stop back there when I was done. I did, and the elderly couple there turned out to be involved in the family. They had made us all peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, which I helped satellite to our dispersed group since I was already talking to the couple. I mentioned that I had caught a whiff of cannabis when walking by their camp earlier. The man told me I probably did, as his wife was making cookies. I offered to trade him for a little bud, but he refused, promising that I would get one of the cookies.
I did get one of the cookies, and it was incredibly potent. Actually scared me a bit because, between my illness, which had almost closed off my throat that night, and the strength of the cookie, I believed for awhile that I had been dosed with mushrooms too.
Thanks to Brand X Kitchen, we had a great meal that night.
The next morning, the Forest Service showed up at 8 am and asked if we could be out in 15 minutes, when they had promised us 9 am the day before. We said that was unrealistic, and settled on 45 minutes as an agreement. It took us a little over 30. The Forest Service followed us all the way out of the woods and down the main road, until we had passed the sign that said we had left the Apalachicola National Forest.
The RV was still having trouble, however, and we weren't ready to leave on too long of a distance journey just yet. We stopped at a Walmart in Florida and the head of Brand X got permission from the Walmart to stay in the parking lot while we got the RV repaired. However, we couldn't go inside the store, even to use the bathroom, unless we were buying something, and we had to stay off in the corner of the parking lot and not interfere with their customers. Most of us camped in the woods behind the Walmart, though I don't think the Walmart knew that. It kept us out of the parking lot during the day, too.
I took the time to get the moneygram from my grandma while at the Walmart, picking up some throat spray, cough drops, and a little food and snacks to pass out. What was left, I gave to Mama Frea.
The next morning, since we couldn't use the bathroom in Walmart, I did my morning constitutional in the nearby Burger King, deciding I may as well get my breakfast while I was there. Some nice, crazy old lady was telling her coworkers a story they weren't paying attention to, so she just continued her story to me from mid-sentence as if she had been talking to me the whole time. I noticed she was wearing some pins on her hat from work, and asked her if she'd trade me one that had a star on it and said Burger King, and she just gave it to me, telling me about a pair of patch pants she used to have with patches she'd get from naval men.
The head of Brand X found the part he needed for the RV, and someone to put it on, but it was still going to be a couple days until he would be available to do so. In the meantime, many of us had our beards, and some their heads, shaved. I just lost my beard. Also, a generous trucker with plenty of spare shower tickets got us all a shower.
A sheriff did come by each day to check on us, but mostly left us alone. We reassured him we were headed out of the state as soon as we were able.
Once we got going, we made our way into the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, where we set up camp for the night. Mama Frea told me to tear down early in the morning, though. The car was stolen and we were leaving the Wolfpack crew behind, cutting the caravan down to just the RV and the van.
From there, we made our way to Anniston.
(next chapter)
Showing posts with label apalachicola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apalachicola. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
What A Ride: Apalachicola
(previous chapter)
There weren't many people at holding camp when I arrived, as most people were still in transition from the Ocala gathering. The only camp I remember being set up was Wolfpack 13, though there were a few others.
When we pulled into the campground, I rolled down the window and shouted out the window, "Are we home?"
One of the members of Wolfpack answered, "Are you home? Yes, you're home. Welcome home!"
The man who gave me a ride and I set up camp just off the road, where a fire-pit was already in existence. I kept a stock of wood for fires at night, and making breakfast and coffee in the morning. My ride left after only a few days to go pick up his woman, leaving me with plenty of supplies to feast on. I donated something around half of it to the Stockpot Kitchen, which had become my favorite at Ocala for its very welcoming atmosphere.
An overdose happened very early on at holding camp after a family member consumed a bunch of Benadryl capsules to achieve a high and ended up in the hospital. An emergency council was called to decide on how to act, and one of the members of the family that had not intervened was saved from excommunication for inaction due to a vote that determined that, while sad, the party that had overdosed was an adult - just barely - acting on his own free will. He survived, by the way.
The lake we were gathered beside had been ravaged by Florida State University students that would often come to party, leaving a gigantic mess of nails, broken glass, and other items of trash strewn all around, but focused on the beach. You could shift through the sand for hours in the same place and still be picking up trash. Starting with a girl named Katie, her boyfriend Bo, and myself, we began picking up the mess. The first day was just us, but after that we had an entire group. All we had to do was clean. Other members of the family would satellite us food, drinks, and anything else we might need. I began sorting through the broken glass for pieces to turn into jewelry to reduce the amount being tossed. It wasn't enough. Even with a whole, dedicated group that spent most of their days picking up garbage, there was still trash to be gathered when we left to the actual gathering.
The Forest Service officials that interacted with family were grateful for the effort, giving us a great permit for the Apalachicola gathering, including an extension for cleanup if needed.
I joined up with the Hookah Lounge as a barista at seed camp. I spent almost all of my time there when I wasn't cleaning to keep myself caffeinated and in good company, anyway, so I figured I could learn how to make their (s)expresso (espresso with sweet and condensed milk) and take shifts as barista/host. I traveled with the Hookah Lounge to the Apalachicola seed camp from holding camp
Overall, Apalachicola was a more relaxed gathering than Ocala, with very minimal interference from law enforcement. Well, until the shooting happened.
Towards the end of seed camp, a group of projects kids were engaging in their tradition of burning a tire. The shooter thought he'd record it with his camera, but one of the gatherers took his camera and smashed it. The shooter went back to his truck for his gun, then opened fire, went through a clip, reloaded, then began firing again. Family did what they could to contain the situation and subdue the shooter. Smiley lost his life, while Dice was injured to the point of paralysis. The shooter was also placed in critical condition, having been stabbed multiple times, castrated, and being nearly beaten to death. The mamas came in last minute, claiming he needed to live with what he'd done.
All this, the night after some Front Gaters sought to beat an attendee named Dale for false accusations of him beating his woman. What really happened was a verbal argument between Dale and his woman that a Front Gater stepped in on and picked a fight with Dale over. Dale won, and the Front Gater got his friends. Being afraid for his life, Dale hid while the search party sought him out. I found an elder to call an emergency council, but first Dale had to be brought back to the elder's camp for sanctuary. That elder was Greywolf. I went on a reconnaissance mission to sneak Dale into Greywolf's camp, where he was sheltered until council decided he could leave the woods without confrontation, but he had to leave immediately. His woman went with him, though she was not made to.
Healing council the morning after the shooting, a picture of Dale and Smiley was passed around a circle. The person who had died, and the person that would have likely died had I not stepped in the night before the shooting. It was kind of a surreal moment for me to see the picture.
Law enforcement had set up roadblocks to keep gatherers in and newcomers out while they searched for the murder weapon they had already secured after responding to the shooting, but subsequently lost. Their claim was that all they wanted was the gun, and if it was not turned over in a set amount of time, then a judge was going to sign a blanket search warrant for all gatherers. The whole forest had its mission for the day, with everyone wanting to just find the gun and turn it over to the authorities.
When the deadline to turn the gun over had almost past, the law enforcement officials claimed they found the gun and left. The next day, they came back, claimed it wasn't the gun, and demanded all gatherers be out withing 36 hours, setting into motion a frenzied tear-down of camps that left much cleanup to still be done by the time everyone had evacuated. I acquired a tarp and rope that had been left behind during the mess, and a group that provided family with necessary gear gave me a new tent.
Since everyone was fleeing the gathering so early, there was not much time for me to figure out my ride situation and where I'd be going now. Nano and Mama Frea from the Hookah Lounge had split up, and rides for the Hookah Lounge's staff became uncertain as the van belonged to Mama Frea. Mama Frea gave me permission to accompany her into Alabama, so I left with a caravan of three vehicles - Mama Frea's van, a car with Wolfpack 13, and the RV transporting Brand X Kitchen.
(next chapter)
There weren't many people at holding camp when I arrived, as most people were still in transition from the Ocala gathering. The only camp I remember being set up was Wolfpack 13, though there were a few others.
When we pulled into the campground, I rolled down the window and shouted out the window, "Are we home?"
One of the members of Wolfpack answered, "Are you home? Yes, you're home. Welcome home!"
The man who gave me a ride and I set up camp just off the road, where a fire-pit was already in existence. I kept a stock of wood for fires at night, and making breakfast and coffee in the morning. My ride left after only a few days to go pick up his woman, leaving me with plenty of supplies to feast on. I donated something around half of it to the Stockpot Kitchen, which had become my favorite at Ocala for its very welcoming atmosphere.
An overdose happened very early on at holding camp after a family member consumed a bunch of Benadryl capsules to achieve a high and ended up in the hospital. An emergency council was called to decide on how to act, and one of the members of the family that had not intervened was saved from excommunication for inaction due to a vote that determined that, while sad, the party that had overdosed was an adult - just barely - acting on his own free will. He survived, by the way.
The lake we were gathered beside had been ravaged by Florida State University students that would often come to party, leaving a gigantic mess of nails, broken glass, and other items of trash strewn all around, but focused on the beach. You could shift through the sand for hours in the same place and still be picking up trash. Starting with a girl named Katie, her boyfriend Bo, and myself, we began picking up the mess. The first day was just us, but after that we had an entire group. All we had to do was clean. Other members of the family would satellite us food, drinks, and anything else we might need. I began sorting through the broken glass for pieces to turn into jewelry to reduce the amount being tossed. It wasn't enough. Even with a whole, dedicated group that spent most of their days picking up garbage, there was still trash to be gathered when we left to the actual gathering.
The Forest Service officials that interacted with family were grateful for the effort, giving us a great permit for the Apalachicola gathering, including an extension for cleanup if needed.
I joined up with the Hookah Lounge as a barista at seed camp. I spent almost all of my time there when I wasn't cleaning to keep myself caffeinated and in good company, anyway, so I figured I could learn how to make their (s)expresso (espresso with sweet and condensed milk) and take shifts as barista/host. I traveled with the Hookah Lounge to the Apalachicola seed camp from holding camp
Overall, Apalachicola was a more relaxed gathering than Ocala, with very minimal interference from law enforcement. Well, until the shooting happened.
Towards the end of seed camp, a group of projects kids were engaging in their tradition of burning a tire. The shooter thought he'd record it with his camera, but one of the gatherers took his camera and smashed it. The shooter went back to his truck for his gun, then opened fire, went through a clip, reloaded, then began firing again. Family did what they could to contain the situation and subdue the shooter. Smiley lost his life, while Dice was injured to the point of paralysis. The shooter was also placed in critical condition, having been stabbed multiple times, castrated, and being nearly beaten to death. The mamas came in last minute, claiming he needed to live with what he'd done.
All this, the night after some Front Gaters sought to beat an attendee named Dale for false accusations of him beating his woman. What really happened was a verbal argument between Dale and his woman that a Front Gater stepped in on and picked a fight with Dale over. Dale won, and the Front Gater got his friends. Being afraid for his life, Dale hid while the search party sought him out. I found an elder to call an emergency council, but first Dale had to be brought back to the elder's camp for sanctuary. That elder was Greywolf. I went on a reconnaissance mission to sneak Dale into Greywolf's camp, where he was sheltered until council decided he could leave the woods without confrontation, but he had to leave immediately. His woman went with him, though she was not made to.
Healing council the morning after the shooting, a picture of Dale and Smiley was passed around a circle. The person who had died, and the person that would have likely died had I not stepped in the night before the shooting. It was kind of a surreal moment for me to see the picture.
Law enforcement had set up roadblocks to keep gatherers in and newcomers out while they searched for the murder weapon they had already secured after responding to the shooting, but subsequently lost. Their claim was that all they wanted was the gun, and if it was not turned over in a set amount of time, then a judge was going to sign a blanket search warrant for all gatherers. The whole forest had its mission for the day, with everyone wanting to just find the gun and turn it over to the authorities.
When the deadline to turn the gun over had almost past, the law enforcement officials claimed they found the gun and left. The next day, they came back, claimed it wasn't the gun, and demanded all gatherers be out withing 36 hours, setting into motion a frenzied tear-down of camps that left much cleanup to still be done by the time everyone had evacuated. I acquired a tarp and rope that had been left behind during the mess, and a group that provided family with necessary gear gave me a new tent.
Since everyone was fleeing the gathering so early, there was not much time for me to figure out my ride situation and where I'd be going now. Nano and Mama Frea from the Hookah Lounge had split up, and rides for the Hookah Lounge's staff became uncertain as the van belonged to Mama Frea. Mama Frea gave me permission to accompany her into Alabama, so I left with a caravan of three vehicles - Mama Frea's van, a car with Wolfpack 13, and the RV transporting Brand X Kitchen.
(next chapter)
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