In ‘Apocalyptic Times,’ Marching Forward Together
nytimes.comWhile dancing around a bonfire to the rhythms of a drum circle in May 2013, Melody Christine Dankemeyer, who goes by the name Melody Sage, felt “a tingling rush of energy” course through her body.
It was at that moment when she turned around and caught sight of Rosco Kickingstone Siragusa, who goes by Rosco Kickingstone.
The two introduced themselves, but Ms. Sage could only manage a short conversation with Mr. Kickingstone before she danced away. “I was overwhelmed,” she said, describing the sensation as “such a strong feeling that I had never experienced.” Both were camping in southern Oregon, where they had traveled for a weeklong celebration of Beltane, a pagan festival also known as Celtic May Day, hosted by the Radical Faeries, a countercultural group that for decades has maintained rural communities catering to L.G.B.T.Q.
residents. The day after the bonfire, their paths crossed again. Ms. Sage said that Mr. Kickingstone, who had jumped out of a tree and broke his foot just hours before they met, was not difficult to track down. “I joke that he was easy prey,” she said.
