Yeah, special place within a special place. I wanted to go there last year, but didn't get the invite.
This year I had the honor of helping start the fire. I have been a part of several fire starting ceremonies, but this one meant a lot more to me. I used my flint and steel kit to strike the spark into the char cloth. Blackhawk was beside me with a handful of fine tinder waiting to hand me. Suddenly it all became very clear that I was not to do this alone. One man strikes the spark, but another fans the flames. I handed him the char and within moments we had a nice little fire burning.
The symbolism of "passing it along" struck me deeply. The Tennessee Classic is an amazing exhibition of this concept, the spirit station is a distillation of that concept, and being able to spark the fire that was used by the people renewing the art on the wall was an honor I will not forget. Thank you to all that participated and for inviting me to be involved.