Absurdia

How often have you told a story about a thing that happened that put you in a bind then some other thing happens so that everything works out for the better, and a listener smiles knowingly and says, "Everything happens for a reason." But does it really? This comes up enough that I decided to ask the question for my survey at Absurdia and it was pretty much a split decision. Some people approached this from the cause and effect perspective. "Well, yeah, a thing happens, then another thing happens, there's always a reason." Or from the everything is random perspective. "Shit just happens, sometimes there's a reason but everything doesn't happen for a reason. Que sera, que sera." So fifty-fiftyish on that. I thought the water next to the bed question would be almost unanimous, that it would be the common ground that crossed all religious, cultural, and political barriers, but I guess I was biased by my own practice. I can't bear to wake up with a dry mouth and not have some water within reach. Not so for roughly a third of my respondents. Hydrate, folks, hydrate. It's ok if it increases the probability that you'll have to get up to pee, maybe you'll have a cool dream later that wouldn't have happened if you'd slept through. See, maybe everything happens for a reason.

What I Found

I was hobo camping at this event. Entheos, the gang I usually camp with was not placed so there was no Global Warming to use as a salon. I was camped in an RV spot next to Captain's Camp Brew-Ha-Ha and that served as a perfect focus for my action instead. People relaxing with their morning coffee are very receptive to being surveyed by a random old burner. And engaging in the process like it's the most natural thing in the world. Also since I was on the staff, there were plenty of opportunities to verbally corral other staff members at the commissary which may or may not have affected the outcome. No one seemed put out by my queries so now there's no stopping me. Axis Mundi better be good.