Rainbow Gathering to Portland, OR
Saturday July 5, 2003
7:15am I don't know what to think. I'm here at the Rainbow Gathering not having much fun at all. I'm just walking around not talking to anybody. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's all those negative reactions I got or I'm just expecting too much. I had high hopes. Maybe I am just so egocentric that I falsely assume that my story is that interesting. It's pissing me off. All these punks are talking about is acid and drugs. A lot of stupid shit.
Everyone is all yelling, "Lovin' you," across the meadow. These people need to stop partying and do something about it already. Let's murder the government. We can govern ourselves. I feel like my idea is what everybody wants already. I don't know, let's see.
7:25am I really need to get in a better mood. This is the last thing I expected to be. Depressed at the Rainbow Gathering. It sucks because I don't have anything else to say to people. All I have to say to them are my scripts. I've programmed myself. I'm my own robot. Ack, I don't know what to do. Let me go for a walk and climb up the mountain over here.
I need to do something about this. Something needs to happen. Maybe I should leave. I don't belong here.
7:47am I just found a place in the woods and took a shit. There's tons of mosquitoes out here.
9:07am I asked Sidney for a cigarette and she hooked me up. Thank you, Sidney.
10:44am I've just been lying around all day. I was just lying on the ground and Katie right? Jackie I mean, I asked her, "Hey do you have time for an interesting story?" She sat down and actually listened to me. I like people who listen to me, but I don't want to talk her ear off. I'm not going to tell her any more stories. I just want her to know that she was exactly what I needed. How refreshing.
11:28am I just stumbled onto a totally new field.
12:37pm I kept following the trail and it came up to the bus village that people had told me about. It's real close to the entrance, which I kind of remember. So, that means I gotta walk all the way back to the main circle. I'll be ok.
Actually, I just decided to leave. I'm just going to sit down here and ask people if anyone is heading West. Someone will give me a ride eventually. It's not like I'm the only one.
12:49pm Balls hooked me up with a cigarette. That's very generous of you, Balls.
1:00pm Yet another observance of ignorance. These guys told me, "Hey, I'll listen to your story." I start telling them and bam, they cut me off and forgot all about it. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is death.
This hippie girl just walked by me and was yelling at her dog saying, "Come here, now! You do not make your own decisions! You do not get to choose where you want to go!" Hey, chill out. This is the Rainbow Gathering. Everybody is free here. Hmm, this girl has issues. I bet her parents told her shit like that when she was little. She needs to talk to someone.
Whoa cool, I saw somebody I knew. Not from San Antonio, but from Arcata when I went last time. I crashed with him under the 7th Street bridge a couple times.
3:03pm It's hilarious. These cops pulled up and this one guy told them, "Hey, there aren't supposed to be vehicles on the grounds." The pig started questioning him and ran his ID and shit. They were all debating and that one guy set the oinker straight. He got let go in the end. Stupid cops.
3:36pm I just talked to Jes. She's agreed to give me a ride to Portland, Oregon. She is going to give this younger couple a ride, too.
4:20pm Hey, guess what time it is guys. Too bad we can't celebrate. We are leaving on the way to Portland.
Leaving
6:58pm We stopped at the Chevron gas station in some town. I don't know where we are.
8:02pm Now entering Salt Lake County. The scenery is just beautiful. These mountains are gorgeous.
8:17pm We are in Sugarhouse. Just East of Salt Lake City.
8:24pm Let's see, Jes and the other kids, they're going to go dumpster-diving. Jes is walking to go check this one dumpster. I've never dumpster-dove before. I don't think I'm going to start.
8:40pm I walked all the way back to the van because I need my walking stick. I need my prop. I'm going to go hit up Taco Bell for some free food and they're going to hook me up, even though they are fast food places and all about money. Just watch.
8:45pm I'm at the Taco Bell in Salt Lake City and Eric, the manager is being very generous.
I totally owned this guy. He was all impressed. I gave him all my scripts. Did I call that, or what?
Badass, the employee who got my taco for me brought it out and said, "Hey, you want something more than that, man?" I smiled and told him, "Sure, if you can spare it." He asked me what I wanted and I told him to surprise me. So they're giving me even more food!
He hooked it up with a big ass quesadilla, too. I'm walking back to the van. Now that I have a surplus, I will share with my friends. See how that works?
1:37pm I just woke up in the car. We just stopped at a gas station in Eden. Like the Garden of Eden.
1:50pm Bob at the Texaco in Eden hooked us up with some Dr. Peppers. That's very generous of you, Bob. We appreciate it. Peace out, brother. Drive carefully.
4:21pm We are over at the Sinclair gas station over by . . how far are we from Boise? Ten miles from Boise. I'm going to scrape up a resin hit because it's 4:20pm.
5:42pm We just picked up a hitch-hiker. His name is Rivers. We are 372 miles away from Portland, so it'll be a while still.
6:20pm 290 miles to Portland.
7:13pm I'm talking to Rivers and he suggested I check out the band, Morphine. I'll download them.
7:26pm Rivers suggested that if I ever pass through LaGrande, Oregon to walk around and look for him.
8:17pm We are driving into Pendleton to drop Rivers off.
9:14am We stopped somewhere on the Columbia River to rest.
9:29am We are over here riverside. I am trying to skip rocks in the water. Jes just wants to rest. The other kids, shit I can never remember their names, are in the van.
9:50am We are leaving Boardman, where the river was.
None of us had any money, so we stopped at a gas station and I told Jes to let me handle it. I hadn't ever spanged for gas money, but hey, it seemed to be necessary. When I started I accidentally asked the two guys working for the gas station at the pumps. I totally forgot that it's illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon. After I realized who they were, I went inside and told them, "One complaint and we're gone." He told me his manager had already mentioned something. So, since we were parked on the side, I waited for people to pull up and park next to us, to ask them. I would tell people, "My girl and I are trying to get home to Portland, but we are about to run out of gas. Can you spare some change?"
10:48am J.R. hooked me up with some change for gas. Thank you.
10:52am Larry has been generous enough to give me some change. Drive carefully, Larry.
11:04am Vladimir hooked me up with five dollars. It'll come back to you, I promise.
11:05am Kelly has been very gracious and given me $2. I appreciate, Kelly.
11:07am Robert hooked me up with five dollars for gas. You're the man, Robert.
$17 in twenty minutes, multiply that by three. $42 an hour. Fill the tank. Hehe. We're off again.
12:00pm I just took a picture of the Columbia River Gorge.
1:05pm We stopped and picked up another hitch-hiker. His name is Roy and he has a dog named Caesar.
1:44pm Now leaving the Columbia River Gorge.
2:50pm We just drove into Portland. Awesome. Max and Julie were their names. The kids.
2:14pm I am in Portland, Oregon. I just got dropped off, not downtown. I forgot what street this was. I'm right next to Holiday Park. There's the MAX(public transportation here, light rail). I'm going to find a place to take a dump, then I'll ask around for resources like showers and laundry.
2:25pm The MAX to downtown just pulled up. Let's see if I can get on it for free.
That was easy. The doors opened and I just got on.
2:34pm I am in downtown Portland, Oregon. Wow. There are all these cool shops around. Hmm, it feels like a Saturday.
I sure can fly my sign here.
I have to find a bathroom. I have to take a shit.
I'm walking down Southwest First Avenue over by Ash street.
What I have to do now is find some stoners and get some weed.
Okay, I have to find the plaza or park in this town. There has to be one.
3:00pm I got directions to the plaza.
I'm walking down Starks street just passed 4th Avenue.
3:03pm This guy asked me for change. I told him I was in his same boat. I asked him where they fed.
3:10pm Lauren and John, hippies, are being cool enough to show me where the Salvation Army is. They start feeding at 3:30pm.
4:02pm I just got out of the Salvation Army. I ate and am full. They have peanut butter sandwiches you can make yourself. I'm full. Now I'm going to go to the waterfront and get smoked out.
4:41pm I just went up to this guy and told him, "Hey, I want to tell you what I'm going to do. Will you listen to me?" He told me to have a seat. I get into my scripts, but he gets easily distracted and even talks to someone else. He starts to clean his pipe out and tells me he's still listening. He wasn't listening. His attention was divided. He didn't react at all when I reached the key points. I told him, "Hey, I'm having a lot of trouble telling my stories without any eye contact. I can either come back later and tell you about it or you can always wait to just hear it when the rest of the world does."
That guy told me he would listen. He told me to sit down. Damn the ignorance in this world.
4:43pm These two policewomen came up going around telling street kids, "Be sure to clean up your trash!" Like, she was all scolding them and shit, as if she were their mom. She was even waving a finger at them. I bet she's just compensating for her parents being such dickheads when she grew up.
4:45pm I just talked to this old guy who looked like a hippie. I asked him, "I want to tell you what I am doing. Will you listen to me?" He asked me what I was going to do and I started with, "With the Internet..." and he cuts me off with, "Oh, I don't have a computer." I gave up and told him, "You will when everything is free, but you can just wait to hear about it when the rest of the world does."
4:50pm I just got through all my introduction with some girl and she seemed pretty receptive to it. I asked her, "How much time will you give me?" She said she was in a hurry. I'll talk to more people then.
Hmm, should I take this as a sign and skip this town? I really want to go back to Berkeley. Man, I'm just thinking about how much fun Berkeley used to be. Before I just sat down and flew my sign and people just gave me stuff. I had absolutely no problem bumming cigarettes in Berkeley. But, all these people in Portland care about is money. Some are always hauling around various stuff and try to hawk their bullshit merchandise to people. Money is all they care about. That sucks.
5:10pm I just stopped and talked to these two girls. They actually listened to me.
5:29pm I came over to the Salvation Army to eat and while I was standing in line, I asked this black guy Bulldog if he knew where I could get smoked out in this town. He told me to go to the waterfront, but that some cash would probably help. I sat down and ate with Bulldog and after the meal he said he was going to sell something to get some weed. Cool, he was going to smoke me out. So after we ate we went down to the waterfront and he traded these really nice Reebok's that didn't fit me for some money. Before I knew it, I was all lit up. Now, Bulldog had only been in town for a couple days. I totally lucked out. I thought I wouldn't be smoking too much marijuana in Portland.
5:40pm I'm talking to Sky. He's a hippie dude with all these dreadlocks. I went up to him and asked him, "Hey man, you look like someone who will listen to me. Will you?" He let me talk, cool.
5:44pm Mike was generous enough to give me a cigarette.
Ignorance once more. I talked to this guy and I immediately asked him, "Will you listen to me?" He told me, "Yeah, sure." He didn't though and started interrupting me. Oh well. His loss.
6:00pm Dave was nice enough to hook me up with a cigarette. Thank You.
I just talked to Lisa and she's the one person that has listened to me the most.
6:20pm I got these two girls to listen to me, cool. Then the bus came.
6:21pm Spencer was nice enough to give me a cigarette. Thank you, Spencer.
6:37pm Spencer hooked me up with yet another cigarette. Okay, now I feel better.
7:10pm Jessie is giving me some good resources in town. She works at the Great Harvest Bread company on 2nd and Yamhill. It's on the left side if you're walking down Yamhill. She told me they throw away so much food. She's going to hook me up.
8:39pm I was told to go to The Peace Encampment on the sidewalk in front of city hall and talk to Todd. That's where I'm going.
9:07pm Donald just walked up and gave me a Luna Bar. That's perfect.
9:45pm Man, I just a had a big long conversation with this guy. He actually listened. He did talk a lot though. He recited me the entire Martin Luther King Jr. speech "I have a dream."
9:55pm I'm just walking around. I'm going to go try and find that place in front of city hall. The Peace Encampment.
11:08pm I found the Peace Encampment
in front of city hall. There are a few people just crashed out on the sidewalk. There's a lot of chalk writings on the cement as well. Lots of hippies. I'm going to crash out on the sidewalk. I never thought I'd be able to do that. I already have a place to stay.
11:31pm I told you I stumbled onto The Peace Encampment here. Badass. I mean, I have a place to sleep! Awesome.
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