BURNING MAN - WHY I DO NOT GO

I have wanted to go to Burning Man ever since they had a bonfire on a local beach. As the artwork at Burning Man gets more impressive, my desire to go increases.

I do not go because:

Burning Man is now a HUGE place in a hostile desert. You can not drive anywhere, but have to set up camp and then walk or bike to the events and art.

THERE IS NO SHOPPING! No sale of ANYTHING is allowed. (This might be better then I think.)

You have to bring any water that you plan to drink, and any water you plan to wash with. You need to drink a gallon of water a day.

There are no flush toilets, only port-a-potties.

My wheelchair would be ruined by the blowing sand.

There can be sandstorms with winds up to 75 miles per hour, where the sand blows so hard that you can not see your companions.

It is HOT during the day and COLD at night.

Tents have to use rebar tent posts as the ground is so hard.

And yet people return year after year because for them the pain is worth the gain.

This year there may be less artwork, performance art, and entertainment as only about one fourth of people got tickets, and many critical participants did not get tickets.

I notice that, when an event is based on people organizing themselves to present fun things, that often the organizers of the event do not take these smaller organizations into consideration in planning for the big event. Burning Man is not just the "burn", it is all of the other smaller events, art, and entertainments. Unfortunately, if only 25% of the smaller event workers can get tickets, the smaller events might not take place. It is possible to lose so many smaller events that the large event loses its spirit.

Burning Man is a very special "happening". I hope it successfully makes it through the current growing pains.