Grateful Dead

dead.net the official site

There are so many stories about the Grateful Dead in my life.... first album when I was 16 years old, seeing them at the world music fest in Jamaica in '82, my wedding song "It must have been the roses", tattoed on my chest. I guess the best story is also my sadest story. After knowing my wife for 28 years married for 24 of them and raising 3 sons with Autism she decided it was time for her to leave us. It was heartbreak for all of us and I found myself wondering why and needing some help to get through the heartache. My absolute favorite song is "Ripple" I have a vision of an unstrung harp rising out of a mountain lake with ripples in the water tattooed on my arm. I think I have listened to every version of this song possible sung by other artists as well. The meaning to me has been so important these past couple years. The song tells me that I need to be able to stand up for myself but still accept help when needed. It also says to me to extend a helping hand to lead another but ultimately if you can't help yourself your will fall alone. After these years of heartache I have been able to fill my cup and move on with life. I will always cherish the life I shared with my ex wife. Even though she isn't part of our daily lives anymore we are starting new as a family of 4 dudes. Life brings us to many places and gives us many things to reflect on..... indeed what a long strange trip it's been. Thank God for The Grateful Dead. The songs and memories have kept me happy inside and pulled me through some rough times.Mark......Dadof3auts....Must have been My tunes were played on the harp unstrung.

I swore they could hear my voice;I learned the fire from the ice as I rode the rising tide; At that point I knew my love would not fade away. I could tell my future too, I looked at what was in my hand. I couldn't stop for nothin'... I started searching for the sound, but never learned how to duck. I became St. Stephens answer and met Jack-A-Roe. Jackie was true to me... then I knew the life I was living was no good, so I got a new start and lived the life I should. Nothing is for certain, it can always go wrong; I get the feelin', I'm going to find out real soon; we will survive!

My memories of this has been jumbled up over time. Please, don't correct me if the facts are wrong as I need this. Here's the way I remember things: I was in Bloomington, IN for a 2 day bike ride. I checked into my hotel on Friday night and drove up to Deer Creek for a show. It was to be weekend of the Dead and cycling. At the show, I called my sister to gloat over seeing the Dead. She cut me short. My Mom had collapsed and been taken to the hospital. She had a brain tumor. I wanted to go home, but was in no shape to drive and needed to be among friends, even if I didn't know them. The only part of the show I remember is the encore, and here's where things get fuzzy. The way I remember it is that the last song of the second set was Not Fade Away. The crowd sang along. The band quit playing and crowd kept singing. The band walked off the stage and the crowd kept singing "You Know Our Love Not Fade Away". This went on for awhile and kept getting louder and louder. Instead of falling apart as most of these things do, the crowd singing kept getting more and more organized and louder. I never sing. This time I was. I felt like my Mom heard and was singing with me. Finally, the band came back. I'm not sure what they did. Checking setlists on line, it seems this happened the previous year at a Deer Creek show I attended. Maybe that dark night, my mind brought out the memory of that previous show, shuffled things around, and gave me the reality I needed, so that is the way I shall remember it, facts be damned. Whether real or the jumbled memory of a previous show, I've hung on to that magical moment. When my Mom was in the hospital with brain cancer and at her funeral, that memory got me through.