Give Thanks!

Sending you love from Canada. I will be thinking of you at 7:30 when the sound healing takes place. I wish I could be there, I know it will be amazing. Much love from this Canuck, xox Courtney

All of Garage Mahal sends their love and deepest sympathies to our cherished friend and honorary camp member, Otto, and to his family and loved ones. There is a huge hole that has been opened in our lives, and I can only hope that we can eventually fill it with the love and generosity and Otto so freely gave to us and the world.

Back in 2003 when I was just coming into my own in the scene and as a person, Otto placed a Ganesh sticker on hat at Vibrant. That sticker on my ubiquitous black cowboy hat would eventually become my personal ensignia and a motif for the entire Garage Mahal camp.

Here is one of my favorite memories of him, dancing with Otto at sunrise during Burning Man 2004.

I miss you dearly, my friend…

Peace, love, and dance…always,
-Matt “ShivaMatt” Long

Dearest Otto,
Thank you for all you gave the world and me-the lessons, friendship and love. I know you are listening. I will miss you. All My Love, Brenna

I love you Otto and will miss you and your laughter dear friend and lover of life. Rest well indeed because the party’s about to get started in the House of Hereafter!

“There’s a hole in the world tonight. There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow. There’s a hole in the world tonight. Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.” ~ The Eagles

My friend- tonight I mourn your passing. Tomorrow I celebrate your life! No-one can fill the hole you leave in this world, but I am so grateful for the new angel watching over me.

Peace!

Jenn Healy

Deepest love to all of you in the Ottoman empire as we support his passing and release from this realm.
From the moment Otto sat me on his knee to chat, he enveloped me with a protective love bubble – and has been like the big brother I never had, ever since. I am forever grateful for our times and frolics together and especially for the beautiful day when Otto joined my soulmate and I in sweet matrimony.
Otto, you will always be my family, I hold you as a new born bird in my heart nest, knowing with all certainty that you now fly free.
Indeed, rest well…. give thanks!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful outpouring of love and support tonight! It helped me tremendously to be surrounded by all the wonderful people that Otto has touched. As I move through the grieving process and all its iterations, it is comforting to know that his legacy lives on in all of us.

My favorite quote of the night…”Let’s all meet at Otto.” Indeed! I look forward to the time we can all meet at Otto again, but until then, I’ll strive to make my current world a better place by continuing what he started!

Peace, love, and dance…always,
-matt

Tonight the world shines a little less brightly with your passing. Yet, it is a better place because of the brief time that you were here. You have touched countless lives and your being will live on in ways that are not yet fully understood. Ott, I will miss your eloquence, your spirit of adventure, your gift of laughter, your vision of right and wrong and your thoughts on justice and humanity.

You are a citizen of the world, in every sense of the word. I have ever met anyone who had a presence like yours – it is undeniable, unassailable and unforgettable. There is not a corner of this world that will be unaffected by your passing. Right now I am heartbroken and shaken to my core, but that much, I am sure of.

I will miss you brother Otto. I will miss the good times, the conversations – and yes – even the disagreements. I will keep your vision and spirit with me, and do everything I can to honor your memory and your life. My baby boy is still to young to understand, but someday he will come to know who you were – and I can only hope that he will be wise enough to understand your vision for a better, and more just world.

Along those lines, I can only ask that we all stop to think about those conversations that I know we all shared with you. Think long…and think hard – and then stop thinking – and simply act.

thank you otto for sharing your laughter, bacon, and vibrant spirit. my friends mike and angie will never forget the morning we stumbled into your camo tent at burning man! i will never forget the grand tour of the lake area you gave me at shambhala 2005 and those delicious crackers…what times, what times…until the next episode…cheers to love, peace, bacon grease, and YOU! xoxo, =^..^=

RIP otto
last weekend i was at a festival in santa barbara
it had been awhile since i seen him
i kept thinking
i would see him propped up against some speaker
head a bumpin
or in the back
arms around indra
or maybe backstage workin his magic
damn guy
you will be missed
i wanted to see you there
to see you had beat the cancer
that you were better
but today i heard the news
damn brother
how many of you am i gonna lose so young?
i remember last summer
the three of us journey’n to shambhala
what a great couple you are
what a great life you lived
o the stories
the joy
the love
you will be missed
brother
preacher
magic maker
thanks for sharing…

this note is for all the family that i shared time with in otto’s life. just know that the fierce love and total connection i shared with him and you is there and always will be. that fire is what we can keep. remember that it did happen and we did do it — and we are doing it — miss you kids. l.a. dave.

You sweet giant tree of a man, Otto… i will miss you so much. i can now look back on all that lazy time spent in camp at Burning Man last year as a special gift, just time spent basking in the great big sun of YOU… Every piece of bacon i eat ’til the end of time shall be dedicated to you, my friend. You always were the most special spirit with a shining light and inner force like no other… i will continue to groove on your special blend of love and energy for all time. love and kisses, kiki

Dear Friends,
Squeeze and I had the good fortune to meet Otto a few years back on the Playa. My first thought was “what a good soul, I need to know this man better”. Not living in SF it seems that we never had enough time but the time we had including many nights on the Playa are times I am grateful to have had. I’m deeply saddened at Otto’s passing and the lost opportunity to have more time with him.

At another time in my life when I had experienced the loss of another great soul in my life someone had said that in time that “everything will be okay”. I thought not so, it’s never “okay” and you never really get over the loss of those we care about.

However, our souls are enriched for having had the privilege of knowing them and having experienced the essence of who they are and from that, I believe our character grows to greater heights. They become part of who “we” are. So, in many respects, we never really lose those dear to us they live on through us.

Thank you Otto for the brief time we had together, we all will miss you.
big cheese

My heart was so sad not to be able to make it on Wednesday. I had promised to help a friend in need, Athena, produce a yoga & poetry fundraising event that night. However a magical thing happened – right in the middle of the event she said “I’m going to put on a song now and just let the words move you in whatever way feels right.” Now, she didn’t know Otto or a thing about him so imagine my disbelief when out of all the millions of songs she could have chosen, she played the Michael Franti Spearhead song ‘Every Single Soul.’ And so over the speakers flowed the words “I know every single soul is a poem written on the back of God’s hand.” And I realized that the song was more than a freaky coincidence given Otto’s relationship with Michael Franti – it Otto’s way of saying ‘hi’ and that it was okay I wasn’t with everyone else that night.

I believe it was also his way of telling me not to worry about the one regret I had with him… not getting to know him better. After meeting 7 years ago I said to myself “What an amazing guy – make sure you get to know him better.” But the current of life carried me along and although we’d see each other at parties and occasionally meet with a small group for lunch while he worked at Microsoft, we never grew beyond acquaintances. I remained an “Admirer From Afar” for his generosity, leadership, and wit. By sending me that message – he said “It’s okay – there’ll be another opportunity, but in the meantime… don’t screw it up with the folks still on Earth. Admire up close -before it’s too late.” Thanks Otto for that parting gift. You will be missed.

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