zozobra!

So, I decided to go. The idea of burning stuff from [--insert name of former employer(s) here--] appealed more and more to me as the day progressed. Nice and pagan; exorcise the people who have been living rent-free in my brain. Collected some paperwork, old business cards, stapled them up in to a bundle that I then decorated with certain people's names.

Armed with the camera, and my package of gloom for the bonfire, I drove to the mall around dusk, parked, and joined the crowds walking to Fort Marcy Park. After getting thru the "security" bottleneck (mostly checking for contraband: booze; glass containers; and — oddly — strollers), made my way up onto the baseball field where the pregame band was playing in front of Old Man Gloom. Not bad, they had a kind of rock/blues/jam band thing going. After depositing my gloompack, found a spot for myself along the foul line, up against the fence. The people watching was pretty entertaining. My favorite were all the kids (and I swear these had to have been 10-year-olds) with thier cell phones. Hilarious.



The band finished, the announcer sentenced Zozobra to "death by flame," the guitarist did his best Jimi Hendrix-esque version of the Star Spangled Banner, the lights went out, and then... the liturgical dance! Not really sure what it was all supposed to mean, but there were kids in white capey things, a guy in red streamers, someone with black+white stripes, and a whole bunch of people brandishing torches. Zozobra was waving his arms and groaning and growling the whole time. Burn him, already!

Finally, a lot of ground-based fireworks, and they lit him. It took maybe a minute for the entire 50 foot guy to collapse in sparks. The fireworks they shot off after lasted probably 10 minutes. Pretty cool. Here he is, before he collapsed; I dig the flaming skull effect.



By the time I got back, Bram was home safely. He saw some of the fireworks as he drove up the hill. Time for bed now.

Goodnight, gloom.