A man who serves as as a volunteer at alternative music festivals – the type with lots of drugs, sex and rock and roll – recently shared some stories about his experiences. His tales reflect the lighter side of giving first aid and general assistance to festival goers who have indulged a bit too much, and he seems to enjoy what he does overall.
Many of the stories involve people on psychedelic drugs. He recounts one group of people who brought in their friend who was in another dimension mentally to the medical area, left her there, and then began to depart. The volunteer stopped them and explained that they needed to stay and babysit her until her trip was over; he did, however, give them snacks and chairs.
Another story is about a woman high on LSD who was bleeding from having cut her hand on a barbed wire fence. Not recognizing the seriousness of the situation, she simply thought that the blood pouring out of her was pretty. The volunteer bandaged her hand, and she spent the next few hours staring down at her wound while lost in her own happy world.
The volunteer appears to enjoy being a bit of an authority figure. In one story, he recalls shouting at a group of festival-goers through a bullhorn to remember to hydrate and how people began to immediately drink from their water bottles.
Naturally, there are a number of stories about sex. He tells about a hippie who came into the medical tent asking for condoms, but not just any condoms; he specifically requested vegan condoms. The volunteer told him that all of the available condoms are latex and that wasn’t sure if that qualified as a vegan material.
The volunteer says that he often gives vendors who come into the medical area earplugs and other items. Then, when he wanders around the festival on his own, they recognize him from their booths and set him up with free food and souvenirs, so it appears that being a festival volunteer does has its perks.
In perhaps the sweetest story, he describes a time when he re-united a lost child with his parents. The child came into the medical area confused and frightened, and the volunteer promptly organized a search for the parents, who were swiftly located. The volunteer describes how good it felt to hand the child over.