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September 2006 Leggo My Ego, Act TwoI began destroying my ego last night: 
This 7-foot wooden behemoth is from a performance piece I did earlier this year called Leggo My Ego: It was attached to my body with a harness and a canvas
shroud. I dragged it behind me a while, cut a hole in the canvas at my abdomen, and pulled out 13 very long and shiny strings from the opening. The strings were wound
round and round my body. I cut myself free from the shroud and offered up the strings to members of the audience. But, I sold the house and said goodbye to 80% of my possessions. My ego was one of the things that had to go. I burnt it in the backyard. Ritual Style. It caught fire much better than I thought it would considering the wet weather: 
As the flames licked higher, I kept hearing police sirens. I couldn't shake the fear that a neighbor had called the cops on me. My effigy was, after all, ramping very quickly into bonfire status: 
The flames rose high enough to endanger the tree in my backyard, and I imagined it as a big burning lollipop. I imagined the firemen arriving and asking me
what the hell I was thinking. 
About this time, I heard the commotion of an impending fire brigade. My fears of getting caught finally gripped me. I scrabbled to attach the water hose to the spigot, turned on the spigot, and doused the flames of my burning ego. The sirens were never actually for me; It was the fear talking. Hopefully, Leggo My Ego Act Three will involve Molotov cocktails.
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