Dave Kennedy, a driving force of the new NABX, passed away suddenly Aug. 13, 2004 at his home near El Mirage Dry Lake.
Dave was my friend, but he was a friend to all who spoke straight and loved kiting. Always ready to lend a hand, a tool, a kite, or even change your
tire, Dave had it all in his amazing buggy trailer.
Even though Dave had a lot of things, he was not a materialist. Dave cared deeply about people, wanting to know how you were doing and remembering
details about your life. He was truly one of a kind.
To say he will be missed is such an understatement for at times Dave could be so much larger than life itself. Like the way he introduced himself to
David Gomberg and Peter Lynn, by presenting them with a hand tooled big kite swivel that Peter said would be better put into a museum.
Also known as Leave it to Dave by his brethren at the Department of Tethered Aviation, Dave was a recent convert to the Burning Man kite scene.
If Dave attended an event, most likely you would have some contact with him by the end of the event. Quick with a remark, or joke to lighten the
situation, Dave was a serious person whose word was his bond.
Dave was a driving force behind the reorganization of Spring Break Buggy Blast, now NABX. Dave was also owner of WindSpeed Pro, the new North American
Distributor for Peter Lynn Products.
Dave spent 26 years of his life as a master machinist and made many of the oil pumps now found in most of the cars running in NASCAR. Although Dave
was about to leave that world for a full time commitment to the Kite Life, he told me he would always be a machinist at heart, because he loved to
make things. He considered himself to be a degree-less engineer.
He is survived by his mother Betty and his father Charlie along with a younger sister Jodi. Dave lived 1.5 miles from El Mirage Dry Lake and had been
flying kites for at least 20 years, but had spent the last 5 years active in traction sports.
The NABX will go on in Dave Kennedy and Bob Hogan’s honor. More info to come in the upcoming months.
Inquiries about Dave and his family, which include his many kite brothers and sisters can be directed to Blake Pelton at Dave's business,
WindSpeed Pro.
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Buddha Dave (from Cookie)
Friday the 13th, a light was stolen away. A heart so big it had to crack, and out poured a drama, a tragedy, a memory and a smile.
Buddha Dave Kennedy made his first and only trip to Black Rock City in 2003. He came not as a wide-eyed newbie, but as an experienced desert dweller
with so much to offer. He arrived with some 57 feet of RV and trailer, housing a kitchen, a repair shop, and the beautiful steel dome he had built to
become the centerpiece and main communal shade zone for our Department of Tethered Aviation (DOTA) theme camp.
During his stay in BRC he manufactured, built, cleaned, and carefully watched over our camp. Clean and sober for eighteen years, he spent the week
eating and feeding us deliciously, smoking cigarettes, drinking Red Bull, and watching the rest of us get twisted. He lovingly admired the nude playa
lovely's that wandered by, but refused to look at naked me cuz I was married to his best new playa buddy. That's just the kind of respect he
had. He was an amazingly generous person, who gave and gave and never asked for anything in return... except for the occasional ginger molasses
cookie.
A talented kite buggier, Dave once said "you know someone's a true friend when they'll pull the cactus outta yer ass." For ten
days we lived with Buddha Dave in BRC, and again and again he pulled out our proverbial, Burning Man, ass cactus.
So beautiful was his dome, that this year he was contacted to build another one for Barbie and Leo's Bok Globule playa installation, a virtual
reality tour of the universe, straight from NYC's Hayden Planetarium. While he was already holding down a job as a machinist and starting a very
successful kite distribution business, he enthusiastically and proudly agreed and began production on another dome for Burning Man 2004.
On August 12th, we headed for Dave's home in the El Mirage desert to finish building the new dome. He met us in his driveway at 1:30am, excited
to tell us all about the kites he had bought for this year's DOTA kite fly (Thursday at 4: 20pm), the feasting we would do for the next few days
and the success of his new business. We shot the #@%$#! for an hour and then headed for bed, wanting to get an early start on the dome the next day.
At 9:15am Friday we arose to find our beloved Buddha Dave flat on his back on the kitchen floor, grasping for his breath. We pumped his chest and
breathed into his lungs, cried, yelled and tried to pull him back, but to no avail. The paramedics arrived at 9:45 and informed us our playa brother
was gone. Left was only a body, a Buddha belly, and the hint of a smile. At least he looked peaceful in the end.
And through the next couple of days of painful drama that we shared with his family and friends, the one thing they all agreed on was that Dave loved
Burning Man. He died and was buried wearing a small burning man around his neck.
Life since then has been nothing but surreal. Our DOTA family has hugged, wept and remembered our time with Dave together. We have screamed at his
loss, said "#@%$#! Burning Man this year!" and then vowed to complete his VR dome and get it to the playa at whatever cost. And so soon we
will all be standing in his completed dome, breathing the dust and seeing the stars, peaking thru the cracks... cuz that’s where the light gets in.
Here we all are Dave, looking for that light from the cracks in your huge broken heart. Go safely brother with our love.