Grateful Dead

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It will never end :) Keep on dancin' thru the daylight, Greet the mornin' air with song No ones's noticed, but the band's all pack and gone. Was it ever there at all? But they keep on dancin' C'mon children, C'mon children, Come on clap your hands Well the cool breeze came on Tuesday, And the corn's a bumper crop And the fields are full of dancin' Full of singin' and romancin' The music never stopped. Peace

That was cool.With your permission, I'd like to print that and show it to folks who ask why I still have such passion for music that was played long ago. They still may not get it, but you said it better than I ever could. Peace, Richard

I was raised on the Dead. Went to shows as a kid. The music was the soundtrack to my childhood. Dead shows were my parents's thing though until after I got out of high school. The first show I went to (by choise) was December, Oakland 1992. That show knocked my socks off. That ONE SHOW changed my life forever. I don't look at things, think about things, believe in things now the way I did before my first Dead show. I went on a few summer tours, quit quite a few jobs to go to shows, sold burritos in the lot, lived the Dead scene. Jerry died the day after my daughter was born, so I couldn't really mourn the loss of the Dead for a while. But I couldn't listen to the music for years without sadness. 12 years later and I STILL feel like there is a big, empty space in my life. And I'm sad that I can't bring my daughter to a show. The music, the lyrics, space, the lot, Shakedown street, the trippers, the jugglers, the artwork, the beadwork, the way that all those bodies could just GROOVE together, the spinners with their feet all taped up, the food, all the VW's on the highway on the way to the show, the drum circles, the Birkenstocks, the dogs, the babies in cloth diapers and tie dyes, the dreadlocks, the miracle seekers, the meditators, "undercover" cops, the schoolbuses, the FAMILY, the ones who went to the shows early to get in the front row, the ones who bought seat tickets, the ones who wanted the grass tickets, people rolling down the grass at Shoreline, camping on the lawn all weekend in Oregon, little old ladies selling bagels to hippies and wondering what the heck they were talking about, flower wreaths, bells on ankles, tapestries, pants held together with duct tape, VW's held together with duct tape, VW engines pulled entirely out of vans and being rebuilt after the show and the security folks who didn't know how to kick them out of the lot.......who can say that's all gone? It is, but it isn't. Today, physically, that scene is pretty much gone. But in our memories and in our hearts, it lives. It lives so strongly that as I'm typing I can SMELL the dirt and dust and food. Like ghostly echos, I can HEAR the music. I can SEE the euphoric smiles and the tender beauty in the spinners faces. My heart beats a little faster because of those memories. I am a happier person because of the Grateful Dead. So, there is no "getting over it". I have not "gotten over" the birth of my daughter 12 years ago, why in the world would I "get over" the Dead because they've been gone for 12 years? How do you "get over" something that helped you become who you are today? How do you "get over" the amazing impact the Jerry and the Dead had on this world? Things happened at the shows that never have happened anywhere else in the world and probably never will. Things happened in my soul because of what happened at the shows. We are here because we are part of the Grateful Dead and the Grateful Dead is a part of us. As long as we are here, the Grateful Dead lives. Our love is real, not fade away.

Just check out the posting on Aug20 thru26. The music and the spirit of the music will never end for me, but I think some of the so called Heads with all the mean spirited postings need to get a life. Remember MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!!!!!!!

I'll be forever grateful I had the chance to see Jerry live so many times and that he was the one who inspired me to learn how to play the guitar when I was 15. Now, 30 years later, I'll still occasionally down a few beers, take a couple hits of Humboldt, put on a Dead video or CD and jam along with my musical hero.

As I walk throughThis wicked world Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity. I ask myself Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred, and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, There's one thing I wanna know: What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? And as I walked on Through troubled times My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes So where are the strong And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony. 'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry. What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? So where are the strong? And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony. 'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry. What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

Whether the Dead are gone or not is not the important issue. Its that the older generation passes it on to the younger generation. Its not just about passing the music either, its that they pass on the idea of acceptance and peace to the younger kids. There is SO MUCH hate in the world right now that I think the Hippies, Deadheads, Diggers, or whatever you were have an amazing opportunity right now to guide us youger kids. Peace- Patrick

I'm still sorting out a lot of what went down back when and finally getting a chance to really listen to the shows that I've collected over the years. "It is so Over. Get on with your life." Okay, but that doesn't mean I'm done with this music, the scene, and the people that I've met as a direct result of the good old GD.

I'm not understanding the should-be parts of your post, direwolf81. I'd never want to tell someone that following their bliss isn't what they Should Be doing, but come over here and do this thing that I think you Should Be doing. or worse, that I think you owe it to (whomever) to be doing. Even back when the Grateful Dead were at their prime, (prime being in the ears and eyes of the beholder, of course) I still saw Weir/Wasserman, JGB, and various conglomerations like that. It wasn't 100% only the boys doing only the Grateful Dead act. The Dead are far from being over, and the music is still alive and swirling all around us.

in carrying on with spirit, my 12 yr. old son has now shown an interest in the grateful dead...just out of the blue i heard alabama getaway playing in his room...i gave him the dix pix from oklahoma 73 and a ratdog from the beacon as a primer compare and contrast to what was and what is...my heart soared on that day....