Reggae on the River @ Eel River

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

It's just not a good restraint unless there is nudity.

[Drunk Monk]

It was a corpulent one. But she thoughtfully dropped trou right near JM, so her clothes were recovered. She was a wrassler, and kept our female JNK very busy. Once she was settled and clothed again, she came down nicely. After that was all said and done, one of our female JNK and I were debriefing over a beer and she blurted out with a completely straight face "I think my knee went in her vagina". That made me spit out my beer.

But back to the inside story, which DM promised last month. This wasn't DM's first rodeo, as you well know, but he was still discombobulated in the wake of the Dead. Now for years, Dm has thought about putting together a packing list for festivals, as he always forgets something and he's never very organized about it. But he still hasn't. He just makes a big pile of gear and hopes he gets everything. Now Dm must note that he's had some gear changes. He was gifted a larger tent and air mattress by Mrs Dm for Father's Day "You're 50 now," she said with a consoling smile. He lost the burnoose cord Greg gave him so many years ago in the wash - just got eaten like so many socks - so he's shifted to lids because he got carded wearing a lid earlier this year and he's under the delusion that a lid covers his receding hairline enough to look young again. And most important, he's swapped out his trusty lion-of-judah fanny pack (that has been around the world with him several times) with a festival bat belt, something he's resisted for many years. He has also added a cool collapsible camping cup, which handles hot tea or cold beer, and flattens out nicely to fit in a bat belt pocket. (jury is still out on the bat belt - dm thinks it makes his ass look flat and emphasizes his muffin top, but feels it would be redeemed if he could find a bat-a-rang).

As he arrived on site in that 100+ degree heat, he realized what he forget. Dm forgot his special neck pillow for his arthritis...and his sleeping bag. oh srsly? So part of the reason why he volunteered to spend the first night in the Dub Lounge with that IPR gal was to sleep on a cot and then surreptitiously borrow some of the new blankets from JAH med. It was fine really. With the new tent and air mattress, Dm was quite comfortable at nights as it didn't get cold at all.

Dm's iPhone was bought on the cheap with a deal from Walmart, which signed him into a contract with AT&T (aka no reception anywhere) so he had to rely on borrowing a phone from one of the Docs. Now, T was returning from Oaxaca this weekend, so Dm was very concerned and not very engaged in RotR. He really wanted to be there to welcome her home. It took some time to establish contact with S and when that was made, catastrophe struck. She had suddenly fallen extremely ill, couldn't keep anything down, couldn't move, flu-like - and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to rally and make it to SFO to pick up T. S has had a terribly unfortunate run this summer all while I was away - 4 trips to the vet ER (one resulting in the passing of our cat), power outages, water shut down, phone line issues - all absurd stuff really, so I've been feeling really guilty about running amuck while she has had to deal with all this stuff at home. So I was touching base with her as much as I could, trying not to be a nuisance about borrowing that phone, and preparing to pull out Saturday morning if need be. Fortunately, she got better by Saturday morn, but then, T missed her connection in Houston. So more stress, more phone borrowing, more worry. It wasn't until late Saturday night that I got word that she was home safe.

The whole weekend had this weird worrisome vibe all the way through. As soon as I got one thing settled, some other thing would arise. One of my key JNK was in a car crash just prior to RotR, totalled his truck, and he was supposed to bring a nooB JNK with him, which meant I lost two krew people. He fell asleep at the wheel. He's a very responsible individual, an SF psych nurse by trade, but just pulled too many night shifts. Of course, getting that message to me was a major hassle without my phone and I made a valiant effort to get the nooB up with a 3rd JNK who wound up being a no show (he's blackballed now). Such hassles. One of our JNK freaked out and yelled at me furiously for something I had no idea even happened. And there was a lot of internal skirmishes with some political shifts within JAH Med. Plus the aforementioned JNK who had his close friend lose a child. It was just that kind of weekend.

RotR continues to have their collective dreads up their asses. They issued an 88 page supervisor-eyes-only manual that was totally useless. It had puzzles in it, as if I even had time to read the damn thing. I read it later after I got home. The promised wifi could be activated by going to a website, logging in and paying a small fee, which I was happy to do....but, without wifi, how the fuck to I access a website? It was just goofy stupid goddamn stoners.

In the end, I was happy to escape early. We pulled an all-nighter Saturday, and through some herculean effort, Chris managed to drive us back to the Fremont. Then I drove home, but forgot about beach traffic and got stuck, struggling to stay awake over HWY17, fully loaded with all sorts of stimulant beverages and visions of my friend totalling his truck.

I can't wait until next year....

[Drunk Monk]

Tomorrow I leave for RotR #32.  Keep in mind that I've been to every one but one since #5.  This year marks the 20th anniversary of JAH Med, the bastard child of Rock Med, formed from the ashes when RotR grew to beyond RM's scope.  

In an act of pure greed, Mateel is forcing the relocation of staff camping to across the highway to make room for higher priced VIP camping.  That means all of staff, always the biggest source of our patients, will have to hump in and out over hill, dale and river rock every day.  It totally undermines the stamina of the infrastructure.  What's more, RotR is the same weekend as Outside Lands and Dead on the Creek, both of which cost me JNK vols.  My JNK was expanded from 16 to 22, and at one short point I had 23 on board, but that shifted and as of tomorrow, I'll have 20.  The expanded JNK is to cover a new Volunteer village, the new vol camp.  

I escape on Sunday, on my own.  I have one day to wash myself and my gear, then it's off to Yosemite for some backpacking.  We are taking a schoolmate of Tara's who has a bad back and has never really backpacked on a 6 day death hike from Tuolumne to the Valley, with passes to climb Half Dome.  

That's how I'm spending this chunk of my summer vacation.  Could be worse.  Could be stuck in a truck driving across country with HK & Benzilla.  

[Greg]

Hk and Hk jr flew home from Boston. I've been driving solo since then. Goddamn corn fields.

I envy your pass up Half Dome. I don't envy you the crowds.

[Drunk Monk]

U so jelly of mi half dome & mi suicide squad.

Yosemite isn't so crowded if u backpack. 1 day hike in and you might see half a dozen people tops over an entire day. Coming out is a shock, but that's made better by porcelain toilets.

Just lost 2 jnk. May have gained 1. There's too much last minute math this year with my vol crews.

[Greg]

My heart burns green with jealousy.

I will take solace in the fact that next week starts my sixteen days in Budapest making a movie. I hope that will ease some of my pain.

Good luck with yet another newbie on a camping trip. And I'm sure the hike up Half Dome won't be too crowded. Damn. Still throwing shade.

[Drunk Monk]

The morning I was to leave for RotR, my dog Jingles collapsed.  He had been constipated, and Stacy thought it might be good to get him moving so she tried to play ball with him and he had a syncopal episode.  It was scary as he has an enlarged heart, and we thought it might be the final cardiac episode.  So I left for the 5 hour commute to RotR with much trepidation.  Despite my plans, my rider had a last-minute work conflict and had to bail, so I faced traffic and detours on my own.  It was a depressing yet reflective ride.  Of course, as soon as I arrived, there was a patient in restraint.  We kept him there.  He kept complaining he was uncomfortable, but every time we loosened his restraints, he tried to take a swing which made us uncomfortable, and it was our comfort over his, so he stayed there for a long time.  The land added a huge water pond above where JAH Med is located, but that shifted the land significantly, somewhat skewing our facility.  They did give us a lot more camping space, but it was deceptively rocky because of the land shift.  Still, we all fit as snug as always.  

One of our vols, a longtime RN, lost her 22 year old son the month before in a shocking car accident.  I volunteered to lead a memorial, donned my Shaolin robes and did something akin to what I did for Dr. Skip, a founder of Rock Med, at Shoreline so many years ago.  On top of that, a good responder friend had his friend commit suicide a week before - he was the one that found him - so I found myself in the grief counseling role again, something Rock Med has eschewed over the years, but it new to JAH Med (note that this year marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of JAH Med).  I am good with these roles, but given that my mind was back at home with my family and  my dog, my heart wasn't quite in the game.  Unfortunately my iPhone still doesn't work out there, so I kept borrowing the Doc's phone - he's a good friend and even gave me his unlock code.  The RN was a wreck, losing her only child, and that was a lot of being present with her.  My responder friend buried his feelings well, but we also talked a lot.  Most everyone knew about my dog, and most said the wrong things trying to help, but I appreciated the effort.  I planned to leave early on Saturday instead of late on Sunday - once my JediNiteKrew was in on Friday night, I was really eager to leave.  None of the acts really spoke out to me, and I felt I did what I needed to do there.  

The first nite I cut the krew early because it was quiet, and just as I was about to leave myself, all sorts of missions arose that kept me up until 4:20.  I had a krew around me and the 4 of us tackled everything.  There was a chick who had tried to sneak some L in a iOS lip balm ball in her prison purse, but stuck it up so far that she couldn't get it out.  ew.  The doc extracted it, but the JNK were on hand because if he failed, she would quickly become our patient.  There was an agro L woman who punched out a DJ on south beach.  That took a lot of time and we worked with security to get her out.  She didn't have a wristband - RotR is the most porous festival of all so sneaking in is child's play for the local nut bags.  We took her to ground zero and were going to release her to PD, but someone drove up that security knew and took her to the next town.  She was oriented, although tripping, just an asshole.  South beach was it's usual pain in the butt.  So far away, and pounding all night.  Can't really dance because it's river rock.  I went out with the crew the following night too, just for fun, and wound up awake until 4:20 again.  

There was a fair amount of work for the JNK while I was there.  Nothing too overwhelming, just constant.  One good hardcore restraint - L again (note that Dead&Co and Phish just came through, so there was a lot in the community).  Honestly, I wasn't in the game thinking about Jingles.  That just sapped any compassion I might have had for our patients.  Fortunately, the JNK stepped up and covered for me.  

When I finally made my escape, some asshole pinned my car in by double parking about half an hour before I was going to leave (I know because I was loading out my car).  Note that I had secured primo parking for a quick exit (JM was kind to provide me with an all access parking pass) and I was so ready to go.  I was really pissed.  Called in some favors from my JM friends and had that ride towed ASAP.  Still, delayed my exit by 2+ hours.  

In all fairness, RotR #32 went well overall.  I was just off because of Jingles.  He's doing better now.  The vet gave him some new pain meds and I added some CBD pet tincture which helps him sleep.  He mostly sleeps.  I wish he'd eat more.  Meanwhile we're all rather disappointed to miss Yosemite, but what can you do?  

[Drunk Monk]

Jingles completely overshadowed rotr32, but I did get a nice sticker for my car, which has remained sticker free until now. I bought 2 nice steal your face metal stickers at SNWMF and almost put the small one on but then lost it. Now I have a bright orange oval rotr ALL ACCESS parking pass - there were only a handful of those. The lion graphic was nice this year. What's more is that it is so rotr in its stoopidity. On the bottom it has several blanks for name, supervisor (only supes could even be in the running to get an all access), phone # (like anyone will put that on their car), and some other random details. Now this is a window decal, the the image is on the sticky side to go on the inside of the window. So how the fuck are you supposed to fill that out? Write on the sticky side? Write on the outside of your window? So rotr, so very rotr. It makes me irie as I sit in traffic looking at it and pondering this ridiculous festival that I've attended now for over a quarter century. It's a great decal and opens the door for more. Maybe I will put that steal your face on. And I need a Cruz octopus.

[Drunk Monk]

Locked & loaded. Leaving in a few hours. Hopefully it will go well. If not, that'll be strike 3...

---

just saw an Instagram from one of our rns on site - temp today was 108.

[Drunk Monk]

Well dang.
I just reread the rotr & reggae rising threads and it's pretty much all been strikes. Wth? This show is hell. 
The only act I care to see is the finale - Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths + Sly & Robbie.

[Drunk Monk]

zion train is coming.

My uber got me. Prolly won't have reception at the Eel. Why would that improve? Catch ya on the other side.

JAH bless.

[Drunk Monk]

4 days is too long to be in so hum reggaeland. Time to catch up on some social media and pass out.

''Twas irie.

[Drunk Monk]

Been sleeping it off nicely. Stacy filled to kitchen with great eats to replenish my body before the horrible office move starting tommorrow and I was just pleasantly dreaming about rotr to be awaken by loud we'd next door. Bother.

DOom report soon come.

[Drunk Monk]

So I knew I wouldn't have enough gas in my personal tank to drive up alone like usual, so I caught a ride in a carpool with my right-hand woman Sarah, her niece Cory and her friend Wendy.  We split into two rides and I was with Wendy, who I now refer to as Baby Driver, because she drives like a mad woman.  A former uber driver, she's got a lead foot, but is relatively safe.  We met in Scott's Valley, but lost Sarah by Los Gatos. The plan was to meet again in Laytonville at some deli that makes huge cheap sammiches, but Wendy and I didn't really care because she's gluten sensitive and I'm cutting back on carbs.  Which is good because Wendy and I hit it off well and totally barreled past Laytonville, missed it completely (there may have been mitigating factors interfering with our attention).  We wound up stopping at the Peg House just before the venue, knowing we better eat something.  The others caught up to us there.  It was hot.  Like really HOT.  Lunch was nice though and I'm glad we acclimatized to the heat a little beforehand.

We hit the venue during the hottest part of the day and struggled to set up camp.  It was 100+ (some said 108, some 110).  I was sweating buckets out my face, so much I had to stop several times.  Wendy had to retreat to her AC prius before she collapsed.  Metal objects left in the sun for a bit because searingly hot, so scalding they'd brand your hand if you tried to pick them up.  This was day one of a six day run?  WTH?  The festival actually runs 4 days but you have to give yourself a day to get in and a day to get out.  It's such a mess.  

RotR had us fill out multiple online forms, print out an eventbrite ticket (that was never used) and asked most vols to join the Mateel to volunteer.  That's right, you had to pay to volunteer.  That's not volunteering, that's indentured service.  JAH Med waived that BS.  But still, there was more BS to come.

Want to know what happens next?  Stay tuned for the next chapter.

[Drunk Monk]

The next few days were spent assisting the JNK with their arrivals.  And my krew started dropping like flies.  Dirty Ho drilled through his thumb (there was much discussion about whether the pic he sent was a burn or not).  Skipper Hardy's dad had a fall and needed help.  Young Samwise's granddad had a heart attack, but he showed anyway, with his cute new gf - unfortunately they couldn't stay too long and missed any significant action.  Dirty's accomplice Steve's wife had a hip injury so he needed to help her.  Mo's nephew was 'left for dead' and her family was circling around him in an OR hospital (still waiting to hear more).  Dan the cheese man just bailed.  So did Jacob, but we suspect RM/JM politrix there.  My krew of 22 was cut into a third.  

Food was good as always - our resident chef does an excellent job but it's fireman food - high carb.  So I survived on stuff I had brought, along with whiskey salad with water croutons.

Had an early IPR with a cracked iPhone.  We unlocked it with her passed out thumb and started texting friends that were in the venue, but the cracks were messing up the texts and the friend who responded was freaking out. I had to keep turning the phone over to get the keyboard to place where there wasn't a crack. One of the JM vols - known as Fun Guy (get it?) - was passing out these pen/light/stylus ads for his insurance company (nice strong penlights) and the stylus saved the day.  Or rather, the night.  

A bear was reported at Ground Zero.  Must be tracking me from Yosemite.

Try to remember the name Crystal - a gal I've known for years but lost her name and had Wendy covertly get it for me.

Turns out zombies can't read cursive.  So now my notes are in cursive.  Just in case.

Want to know what happens next?  Stay tuned for the next chapter.