"Welcome Home . . ." Time on video 6:45. Transcription by Jill Seemann and Randy Rencsok Amazing America segment on Discovery Channel (Cable) 10/14/94 9:00pm Thur "Welcome to the Rainbow Gathering." (sitar music in the background, dog barking) HOST: "Big Piney, Wyoming. Gateway to the great outdoors. This July 4th, the tiny ranching community saw its population grow from 450, to over 15,000 in just a matter of days. The reason? Hippies, Zippies and fellow travellers of all ages and demographics convened for the annual 4th of July Rainbow Family [of Living Light}Gathering. Three generations of flower children emerged from hiding and converged in Wyoming to celebrate our nation's birthday AND pray for peace. But why Big Piney? Well nobody's quite certain, but it appears to have something to do with karmic, cosmic, and astrological signs." RAINBOW BROTHER #1 (Garrick Beck, Rainbow Founding Father): "What we have is a society here that really does work, and it has only small differences from rest of society as we know it. But the small differences are really important, because they are made of e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d freedoms and e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d respect. We have here an incredible spectrum of people all getting along with each other. Not because we're all the same. Look around at us -- we're as different as any society in the world could be. But because we really respect that the other person is a member of our family, our IMMEDIATE family, the whole human race as our IMMEDIATE family is.. It's like, THAT'S a cornerstone of these gatherings." RAINBOW BROTHER #2 (probably somewhere near kiddy village, with a mirrored disco ball): "Feel the healing disco powers of the rotating orb that is the disco ball. Send your prayers up to the Cosmos, into the mirrors and let them bounce off.." RAINBOW SISTER #1 (holding her newborn, horn blasting in the distance): "I gave birth out in the field, and I found a midwife here, and everyone was really supportive. Then I got treated like a queen for the last two days, you know? It's worth travelling across the country for. It's good. (Laughs)." RAINBOW BROTHER #3: "I say. We were brought together for a reason, and that reason is that we LOVE one another. Brought together for a reason, and that reason is that we HEAL one another, it's called a healing gathering. Brought together for a reason, and that reason is we COMPLETE one another. Brought together for a reason, and that reason is that we COMPLEMENT one another. Like what? Yin and Yang, left and right, up and down, old and young, man and woman, (pause) Rock and Roll. (guitar music comes up in volume here)" HOST: "A long dusty trail leads from the designated parking area toward the heart of the campsite. The gathering fields are set up in the form of a large circle. Apparently these rings are metaphors for the various levels of spirituality. The flag at the entrance is flown upside down in the naval signal for distress. The Rainbows say this is symbolic of the world's environmental distress. But that SOS also points the way to nourishment for the arriving hoards at the Welcome Home tent." WELCOME HOME TENT CROWD (loud and All together): "W-e-e-e Lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ve Y-o-o-o-u-u-u-u-u!!!" (laughs) RAINBOW SISTER #2: "Come and get it!" RAINBOW SISTER #3: "We need a dinner bell. Ding- a-ling-a-ling-a-ling -a-ling." (more laughs) HOST: "With its everything-free policy, the Rainbow Gathering doesn't allow any commercial items to be sold. All goods are traded at the open-air bazaar known as the 'Barterer's row'." RAINBOW BROTHER #4: "I kind of hovered around bartering lane for a little while. Because that's fun -- lots of people exchanging their wares. And it's actually a lot more conforting to actually exchange good for good rather than good for cash, I think." HOST: "Holistic health care is provided by the camp known as the CALM unit. There, healing hands and herbal remedies replace traditional medicine." RAINBOW SISTER #3 (explaining to a brother, holding a bag of herbs) "It's good for sore throat, cough, acclamation, mmmm -- giving you energy, natural .(video edit here). Well CALM stands for the Center of Alternative Living Medicine. We have a lot of, really, the best healers in the country who come here to work and learn together. There are also some paramedics and EMTs and men that have gone through nursing school, and the whole variety of any kind of healing element. We all come together as one." HOST: "Back in Big Piney, the townspeople do their best to digest their impressions of the strangest strangers they've ever seen." BIG PINEY SISTER #1: "Business has been really, really good . . . because we've had such an influx of people. Last count I heard was like 3,200 people in here." BIG PINEY SISTER #2: "It's been a zoo. It's been a zoo... (laughs) It's terrible -- this place is a zoo." BIG PINEY BROTHER #1: "They're different than normal people. They have their different ways, but . . . that's their prerogative, I think." BIG PINEY SISTER #3: "My husband and I were laughing, because we grew up in the sixties and it kind of gave us flashbacks of the time we were doing peace demonstrations." HOST: "The days before the 4th of July passed without incident, until the afternoon of July 3rd. It's not known what caused the fire. But extremely dry trees and grass, coupled with dangerous and unusually high winds, created a potential disaster. But the park service hadn't counted on the Rainbows. They're in love with Mother Nature, but apparently they know what to do when She misbehaves. They helped rangers attack the fire and together they put it out." RAINBOW BROTHER #4: "You know we try year after year to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement and the forest service. Because this is not an US and THEM movie. This is not the sixties all over again. This is an US movie. We are all together here, and if you want to know the definition of a Rainbow. You got a belly button? You're a Rainbow. We're all people." (cut to circle of people singing, sister's voice standing out) SINGING GROUP: "One-Love-for-our-Family . . . and-our-children's- children's-children's-children's-chil-dre-n . . . Yes, our-children's-children's-children's-children's-chil-dre-n . . ." (fading into a sister's voice) RAINBOW SISTER #5: "As you can see the energy here is so beautiful. And just... what I want to say to you is.. just take a look deep inside at all you're seeing here. Try to open your hearts. See a different way of living. We're not freaks. We're not bad people. We just want peace on earth (getting a bit emotional, a bit of tears) and em... And what more could you ask for. Love you (blowing a kiss). Bye." ____________________________________________________________ . . That's the end. I get a little teary at the end myself. Really a very nice piece on the Rainbow family, very positive. And all the brothers and sisters interviewed (that aired) are to be thanked for the beauty, love and truth they allowed to be shared.. I apologize for any errors in transcription. I've dropped much of the um's and uh's, etc. for readability. Hopefully we will have this on our web site with sound and images, perhaps even an MPEG (that is if someone knows where there is bsd source for a tiff sequencer to MPEG converter). Humbly and sincerely submitted, Randy Rencsok (I respond to Randy or Brother) (e-mail rencsok@convex.cl.msu.edu or rencsok@cteq14.pa.msu.edu (NeXTMail)) Transcript editing by: Jill Seemann (Yee-hah!!!) 10/19/94