A quick recap of the story so far…
Once upon a time, a decade ago at O.Z.O.R.A. 2012, the passion and vision of our much-loved Goanaut brother, Manga-lover and Beatnik-spirited truthsayer blood-tear-sweated the first Ozorian Prophet into living. This is how the Ozorian tribe got its own daily printed festival newspaper. Five years later, Gergely (who many pronounce “ger-gelee” around the world) spent his last O.Z.O.R.A. with us in body. In spirit, though, he’s still dropping by, spending time with us here or there… right now, here in my living room as I am, or rather, as we are writing these words to mark his birthday, becoming this Universal Geri Day on which we celebrate him and our fortune to have been touched by his presence here on earth in the time we had to share. I can almost catch him from the corner of my eye. He’s also, I am sure, hanging around his “little brother”, Rita, as we decided to pick the Geri-birthday messages together this time round.

As Geri Day was nearing this year, I started thinking about the content that could mark the occasion this year and sent out this intention into the YOUniverse. I wondered what bits and pieces of him, preserved and left behind in doc drafts or colorful chaotic scribbles in notebooks, would surface, and fall before me like breadcrumbs showing the path and his clear preference through the mysterious forces of eternal information transmission. I mean, the birthday boy does have a say in it, right?

Yesterday, the first “package” arrived, in my FB feed, from one of your Gonzo heroes, Gerely, but so obviously in answer to my thoughts surrounding this special, Goth-grey November 16th. It arrived through a quote from Hunter S. Thompson, but it is also so clearly coming from you, the wisdom of you for us all… that it’s piercing:

We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.” – Hunter S. Thompson: The Proud Highway

But as you were, you still are just as big of a “loving kindness straight from the heart” as the hardcore cynic. No denying it. Don’t even try. From what Rita channeled of you for us today, from one of your bibles, Tekkonkinkreet, your message is glaringly clear.

Suzuki: Unfortunately, your luck is waning. This is not a time to be greedy. Maintain the status quo.
Kimura: What’s that, Mr. Suzuki?
Suzuki: Kimura, you believe in astrology?
Kimura: I believe nothing.
Suzuki: Nothing, huh? At least believe in love, Kimura. Love is all you need.
(repeated line) Shiro: Be happy, Be happy

Yeah, alright. We got it. But, hey friend, we miss you here. And hey friend, we feel you around. The owls are still not what they seem.