The Dust Storm Experience

This is a story I have neglected to tell:

Eight months have passed since the hardest day of my life. That same day also harbors one of my awesome accomplishments. Sunshine and a cloudless sky were the wonders I woke up to.

Saturday, the last day before they burn him. There was anticipation in the air and music in every camp. The sky was beautiful and a gentle breeze rumbled over the silt-alkaline playa. Clouds of dust billowed in the distance and rolled towards camp quickly. The music had long since stopped and everybody was talking. I learned the definition of a "white out" and I learned that a camping tent is all too porous.

In minutes, visibility was reduced to seven meters. It hurt to open your eyes and it was impossible to mash them together hard enough to keep the fine silt out. I hid and I listened to the only radio station around for miles- it was being broadcasted from another camp. They were asking for help.

A lamplighter? I heard the word but it took a minute to comprehend. They were calling for volunteers to go out into the storm and secure lamps along the pathways.

I made my mind up before I had chance to think. My new friend, Spoon, loaned me his spare set of goggles. The lamplighter camp was just thirty meters away and I assumed a spot near the volunteer board. There were set paths, each needing volunteers. A woman turned to me and asked which path I wanted. I asked, "Which path is the longest?" She pointed and I nodded.

"Do you want to light or do you want to carry?"

"Carry."

She pointed me towards the tent and I put on a long white robe with handpainted flames coming up from the bottom. It covered every inch of me except my eyes and I thanked Spoon, silently, for the goggles. Volunteers were trying to light lamps, but the storm was blowing them out. Others were in line with huge wooden poles across their backs and I realized what I'd signed up for.

The storm was too rough to take a truck. This meant that we'd have to walk the long path twice; to the center and back around. I stood in line as lighters filled my pole with lanterns and I shifted under the weight to get more comfortable. We began to walk.

Along the path, we'd take constant stops to make sure nobody got lost. Periodically, a lighter would take two lanterns and hang them on the posts we passed. We reached our halfway point and turned into the wind. At that point, it became impossible to stand up straight- I leant forward into the wind while my remaining lanterns blew wildly. Many of them fell from their hooks and the line stopped increasingly more often. Eventually, we'd unloaded our lights and began our walk home. When we neared camp, people starting cheering. A chocolate cookie was handed to me and it was melty from the heat so I ate the whole thing in one bite.

At camp, I disrobed and received my glorious Lamplighter charm. I walked back to my camp, exhausted, and my two friends asked where I had been for the past few hours. I couldn't decide if I had been in heaven or hell.