Presently, my heart is still healing. I poured out my heart and soul into one really good update. Over four hours I spent in front of a computer on a beautiful day. I typed on my e- mail, for there was no Word program. I knew it was risky. I planned on sending chunks, but I was in the flow, ya know? Next thing I knew, it was after Four and I was done and felt really good and as I pressed Send, I just knew it. It was like an impulse , and it was gone... My e-mail had timed out, and there was no going back. All of that energy and inspiration, down the tubes!

Today is the next day, Tuesday actually and so far I have nothing to say about today.

Here it goes: I awoke in Fairfax on Monday morning to the sweet smell of a Police Officer knocking on the van door. "Ok. Ok. "I’m coming down". "I’m just gonna get dressed", as I threw on my pants" Holy Smokes I’m thinking, what a way to wake up. I slide open the door, with me sitting on the cooler, wiping the sleep form my eyes. It’s such a funny situation to share your morning moments with law enforcement. He asks for my licencse, and the van’s a mess. I’m like, "I know what it’s in, but I have to find that." "I can’t just tell you my name?" as I was looking around for my little notepad pouch. So I find it, he calls in my name over his walkie-talkie, with all the words that mean letters, and asks if I’ve been warned about sleeping in my van. I’m like I don’t know, meanwhile we both knew we’d talked before. I peeled an orange in the meantime and was breaking my fast. I asked if he wanted some, but he declined. I’m like "it’s organic"... So I asked him how much the fine I might be getting was, and he said "oh I can’t remember, something menial." "Something menial, eh? How much is menial?" "Under a hundred bucks." "Oh yeah, real menial," I think as I nod, with one of those "are you serious?" kind of looks. I’m like, "I’m from Canada and I can’t really believe that you can get a fine for sleeping in your car. That’s so strange." So then the dispatcher called back, said I hadn’t been warned, and that Ontario’s not responding (likely due to Harris’ cuts!). The Cop (who"ll remain anonymous, based on his "not wanting to be photographed beside Hemphry" stance) said, "it’s you’re lucky day. This is a warning". He gave me some pointers on good spots where I’m out of Fairfax, so it’s Sheriff jurisdiction. He also told me that the neighbours call them and they have to respond to the call. I understand that. I wonder if the voters would ever want to change that law....I wonder if it’s illegal to sleep outside, beside Hemphry?....

I’d come back to Fairfax to join the drum circle that happens in the Pavilion on Sunday nights. I stopped at the Good Earth for some food and was tipped off about a Reggae show tonight. "Oooh, that would be nice." I went to the pavilion, but it was dark and empty. Maybe MJ’s at the Rainbow Gathering in Brazil. I went back to Good Earth, found a friend, and she showed me to Creations dance studio. Jah Levi was playing. I’d never heard of him, but was I ever introduced! Oh my God-ess! Jah Levi is a Gift to I and I (Earthlings). The songs they play are songs of worship, prayers, and thanksgivings. We danced and sang along and it was very interactive. It was like Church, but not so religious. Spiritually Uplifting, Inspired, and Freeing are words I would use to describe Jah Levi’s musical healing. I still feel opened up, like I did that night. The experience I had on Sunday will stay with me through thick and thin.

So, let’s get back to where I left off last week...I was writing you just before leaving to go down to Santa Cruz to see the Dark Star Orchestra.

I ended up leaving here later than I wanted to (what’s new?), but nonetheless, I was on the way. Santa Cruz is about an hour and a half away from here by VW bus, so I ended up at the venue, with a good close spot during the first set. My plan had been to show up early and find "Bones". Bones had met me the night before at the Filmore. He came over to Hemphry and hung out for a bit. He’s a fellow Ontarian, and is touring with DSO, helping the with the Merch table. I was going to see if I could table too, but I missed the boat.

I was able to connect with Bones from the outside, he told me to hang out for a bit and he’d see what he could do. I went back outside to hang out with the other folks who’re in the same boat. Soon we found ourselves in a circle, not far from the bar. We got to talking, had some good ideas, hypothesized, and strategized, and then I got a magic marker. The handstamp was a fish, and since there was insy-outsie, we had a chance of playing the old "just popped out for a smoke, and now I’m so stoked to be heading back in, that I can barely wait to dance" routine. I was game for it. Me and this other bro left-hand drew the fish, then I licked my hand and smudged it up. It didn’t look that good, but with the power of mental projection, it felt pretty good. After hanging out for a while, I got the vibe to head in. I just felt drawn, like the band was just pulling me in. As I got to the front, I spoke with a bro who just miracled one of the other guys I was hanging with! Sweet! Then I turned around, and there was Bones, with a Backstage Pass! We had to go around the back, and as we did, I saw the other brother who’d drawn his Phish and I was like "It’s up to you! You’re the one who gets to walk in with the stamp!" We looked in each other’s eyes and I said: "Jedi bra, you’re already in there."

Bones and I came in backstage, and before I knew it, we were right up front, beside the band, but down a bit. Holy smokes! What a way to arrive at a show. We got in during Deal and everybody was in full groove. Hot, sweaty and smiley, the crowd was just having a blast! My hands were all cold, and I felt like we were bringing the outside in with us for a while. We made it back to the merch-table, and I unloaded my small backpack. I’d brought in some hemp info, as well as the Pledge of Resistance. Bones didn’t know if they could go up on the table, so I left them beside on a chair. When I got back at the end of the night, they were on the table, and folks were happy for them. That feels good. The show itself was great! They played a Wheel, Women R. Smarter, and especially cool, they covered John Lennon’s Revolution as an encore. Everywhere you look, people are talking about the inevitable.

After the show, I met back up with the kids who I met at the beginning of the night. Bro’s stamp worked! It worked so well that he went out and got his friend! That means that all of us from the circle got into the show, roughly at the same time. Jah guides and Spirit provides (all is one).

Santa Cruz is a Dancer’s Paradise. There’s several dance studios that you can take all kinds of classes at, plus a University, so there’s also the bar/band scene. Lot’s of deadheads settled here after the dust cleared. There’s also quite the conscious food community. There’s Santa Cruz Organics, and John Robbins who wrote Diet for a New America is based here. 418 is a Raw/Live Food Café attached to a dance studio. When I was there, they were doing a Senagalese dance class with about eight drummers and several rows of dancers who would continually dance towards the drummers, then walk back and do it again. The dancers dance hard, some more than others, some softer. It was almost like some kind of beautiful football drill or something. Talk about intense.

I left 418, and then I met Mathew outside while I was walking home. One thing led to another, and I ended up driving us to his band’s practice that I got to sit in with. They’re called Burn the Man (yeah) and they have a gig on Thursday, and they want me to set up. I’m going to head down there tomorrow. Burn the Man play some Salsa/Reggae, with Dancehall and other stuff too. It’ll be a fun time.

I made it back up to S.F. on Tuesday night, just in time to park and meet Melody for Ethiopian food before going in to see Ratdog back in the Filmore. I swear that place is like a second home all of a sudden. It’s got that vibe. I like how they have a bucket of crunchy, juicy apples right in the front foyer. Apples are great for set-break. We’ve also been given free posters after DSO and Ratdog. Is that normal? Or is it more because they were special events? Ratdog was a special Mardi Gras party called Rat Tuesday. Bobby’s daughter was up on stage. She is so cute, probably Four or Five years old, dressed up in a ballerina outfit, stiking poses between songs. Rob Baracco sat in I think on Bass or something, (I didn’t realize it at the time, but was told later). We got in during Eyes of the World, which was perfect. During I bumped into Jim Fox, who I’d met in Fairfax back in December. I’d told him I’d put a link to his site from this one, so here it is: worldpeacesong.com. He’s got a good idea, healing our hurts with song, reminding us that all around the Earth, people want peace. Corrina is always one of my favorites and they played it. Bobby is still rocking to say the least. Terrapin Station (Suite I think) with all the different parts. I loved the Terrapin Return. It sounded like some kind of Zappa or something. Epic and tumultuous and rolling, we’d be gasping as they kept playing. The next thing I knew, it was done and had been fun. In the slow line after the show, we got into singing Talking Head’s Burning Down the House. It was silly and I reminded myself of [my friend] Brent, whose in Australia right now.

After the show, I handed out the posters (printed on Living Tree hemp and recycled content paper) and people added them to their stack. I’d been at four shows there in the last Six days, so people had seen Hemphry and were hip to the mobile. Most people by that time knew that Hemphry runs on gas and not Biodiesel/Hemp Oil (there’s been a nasty rumor going around). I can understand how people could get confused, there’s a yellow sticker that says Fuel on the back, just above PureHemp.com. I apologize for causing any confusion. That has never been my intention. In fact, the bio-diesel has been the ongoing intention/manifestation ever since I was involved with the Climate Change Caravan (I was blessed to drive the bus from Toronto, East to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and back to Halifax). Patience, they say is a virtue. I can’t say enough good about my experience with the C3ers. We lived communally, ate great organic food and dumpstered doughnuts in the same meal sometimes, I learned lots about Climate Change, and rediscovered my love for bikes. One day Darek and I had a blissful tandem ride through the hilly backroads of Cape Breton. Plus, I learned all about Betsy’s veggie-oil system, which was based on Josh Tickel’s From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. This knowledge I gained has helped me respond positively to those who wonder if Hemphry is running on biodiesel.

One afternoon I met a man who’s mother in-law (from Mexico) took cannabis leaves and soaked them in rubbing alcohol for a long time. It’s a good muscle relaxant. "It really helps stiffness and sore muscles" he told me. He said one time her conservative "republican" son came to visit and he had a sore back. His Mother gave him some of the rubbing alcohol, and it worked! Her son ended up taking some home. I guess the proof is in the puddin’.

Nature is Illegal in the Land of the Free It’s not the plant’s fault she’s abused, That’s like blaming a woman for being raped.

Let’s assume some responsibility for our actions, personally and collectively.

Let’s let the laws of nature be our guide.

Let yourself be you!

Dance, and be free!

I went to a Mardi Gras Party at the Sound Factory on Friday. There were two rooms with DJ’s and bands taking turns to perform. It was a mix of Salsa, Brazilian, some Hip Hop, a Reggae band, and some great drummers at the end. I had been invited to come and table there I think at the JFJO show. The table was good, in a good spot, and lots of people were into it, but there were also a lot of people who were not so inquisitive. Though there were probably more Ladies, that dominant-male vibe was really strong. I was next to Bhang key, an artisan who crafts his own jewelery using semi- precious stones. He had a lot of nice stuff, but people mostly walked by. I ended up buying a Carnelien string for Melody, and I got a string of snowflake Obsidian for myself. What can I say, I’d had a good week (moneywise), Melody had taken me around to a bunch of buyers clubs and helped out my cause by introducing me to the right people. Thanks for that!

On Saturday, I hung out at Haight and Ashbury and took pictures of people in front of the van. I exchanged a pack of papers for a photo in front of the bus, and as you’ll see, people were into it! In the afternoon, I drummed in Golden Gate Park with kids until dark, went down to the Elbow Room to intersect Vinyl on their way into the gig. I got there at eight-thirty, feeling a bit late, and the band wasn’t even there so that was cool. In the meantime I got a message from a dude I’d met that morning in a crepery. He left me a message with directions to a Headpiece Glass exhibition that was nearby. Sweet! I’d forgotten all about it throughout the day, and I could make it! The band arrived, and they were into me tabling there. They remembered me from Fairfax, and I’d seen them a couple of years ago in Toronto at the Comfort Zone (shout outs!) I set up, then slipped out to catch the glass show.

I was dumbfounded and flabbergasted by the formed Boris Silicate. The fattest bubblers and the sickest headpieces by the Nation’s top blowers were on display. There was also a big tray with all sorts of leafy veggies like Kale, purple cabbage, and broccoli, all there to remind me I hadn’t eaten much for dinner. Hummous, coleslaw, Thai peanut sauce and some good bread rounded out the meal as I conversed with fellow feeders. Then I walked around, marveling at the Art, feeling compeled to touch glass again, my mouth watered. I talked with one guy about making a glory hole for this traditionally lampworked medium. We also talked about combining the fine skills of intricate detail of lampworking with the classical art of blowing softglass.

Vinyl is such a good band that Chet Helms came out to see them! That’s a stamp of approval right there. So is a dancefloor full of people getting a groove on. They’re funky, groovy, jazzy, Latiny and at times Reggae-ish. The "Hempify" table went well. I’ve got it down to where the table watches itself and I go dance. It’s a lot of fun! Of course I hover around to answer questions and whatnot, but I find that people spend more time actually perusing the material if you’re not there to disturb them. Vinyl is a great bunch of guys and they’re on the road, so check them out! They’re playing Whistler on 4:20, does it get any sweeter?

I am completely beat, so I will go to sleep.

P.S. This doesn’t even compare to the one that got away.

Johannes Chapman, Pure Hemp Caravaner

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