Upon my hosts’ return, I heard stories of Puerto Rico, checked out the photos, and helped restock the place at the Crack ‘n’ Save market. That evening I dolled up in my historic outfit and headed over to NIMBY for the Kinetic Steam Works open house. NIMBY artists created the two most amazing things I’d encountered at Burning Man, the Steampunk Treehouse and Hortense. The crew was friendly and funny, but engrossed in a number of projects, the most pressing being the Mississippi-style riverboat under restoration for a trip down the Hudson River. I wasn’t dressed to get dirty, but I listened attentively as the engineers took to the drawing board to design a steam propulsion engine schematic. Meanwhile, air compressors ran in the background as other members cleaned the boiler and began work on the body. When asked how I thought I could contribute, I stated, ‘I wouldn’t want to join a group that would accept me as a member,’ citing Samuel Clemens, riverboat pilot. I said I’d pilot the craft, with a smile. The next morning I woke early, and FB dropped me at West Oakland BART. I was eastbound, stopping in Walnut Creek for a spell in the old stomping grounds. I carried my full kit over to the Theater Cafe downtown, taking to the inner courtyard by the fountain to connect to the Internet. JP, DS and I conducted some of the first ConSynPro meetings ever out here, way back in the early nineties. I spent the day telecommuting and presenting the 1906 reenactment podcast for the 102nd anniversary. After tinkering away here, I kept calling in to SF, hearing nothing back but ready for dispatch. Finally, JW answered, and the evacuation was underway during the anniversary of the 3-day fire which followed the Quake. I drove in and exited on Fremont, continuing down Mission past Saint Patrick’s, imagining everything in flames and rubble. I collected the key from JW, scored a great parking spot, and entered 291, quickly recovering my items, loading them in the trunk, and fleeing the scene, singing Exodus at the top of my lungs on this day of Passover.
