Grateful Dead

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My name is Derek and I'm a viner. I enjoy collecting addresses of Deadheads so that I can burgle their homes while they are away on vacation. Hence, using the vine here as my cover. LOL. Just messing around of course, hope you thought that was as funny as I did.

Thanks so much for sharing. You sure sound like a hardworker who doesn't let setbacks keep him down. Right On! I know how tough it is to raise kids & I can't imagine doing it on my own. Play some good toons and feel proud of yourself. PEACE Leanne

Thomas D I want to thank operator for starting this topic..first things first, I live in the Bronx, born and bred here...My first show was Englishtown 77( I was only 16),I saw about 60 shows on and off during the bands last 15 years. I was a photographer in the early eighties, but I ended up chasing the same powders that did Jerry in...lost everything (for the first time)...with nothing to lose I picked myself up and went back to school, this being the late eighties early nineties. This is also the period where I saw the most shows(10-9-89 Hampton, 9-10-91 MSG amongst others) Anyway I became a professor at CUNY(City University of NY),but my health and some more chasing of the same powders made me lose everything (again)I picked myself up(again) and while I am disabled I have been raising my niece, since my brothers death in 2003. Jamie is 10 now and has giving me new hope in my life. I have been powder free for seven years and frankly I don't believe I will ever get back to chasing them ever again( at least for today anyway) So today I listen and collect many shows( mostly from 68 to 77 ), buy GD CD's, and catch an occasional show, while trying to get Jamie on the bus, so far no luck. Taking care of her has been a blessing and and quite a challenge. While I can't imagine my life without the Grateful Dead Music, I certainly can't imagine it without her. I am still looking for a mate (female) to integrate into our lives...but what will be will be. Anyway I don't know if I said too much or not, but in about a hundred words or so I said what I am( and I am what I said???) Later...Tom

Hey now My name is Kim. I first saw the dead in 1987 when I was 16. There are various other thread on this site when I describe that. I saw the dead over 100 times between 1987 and 1992. Probably saw the Jerry band at least that many times if not more. Still have every single ticket stub to every dead show i went to. It was an awesome ride. I used to collect tapes like mad. At the time, I didn't know many girls that did. The college I went to (ucsc) had a radio show specifically for taping dead shows. They would take a break and tell you when to flip the tape and everything. I broke my leg in many places when I was 20 and was bed ridden for 6 months. I made it through that with the help of deadheads/tape trading. Still have alot of my tapes, but sadly my tape players are all almost dead. Took a "break" from being a deadhead so to speak and concentrated on school for a while. Now found this site and have been having an AWESOME time with the vines. I have enjoyed getting to know people through this site, and my cd collection has blossumed. I am a small animal veterinarian. I am married to an equine (horse) surgeon and live in Florida. That takes up a large part of my time. I have alot of animals, and a family on the way hopefully soon. I dont have many deadhead friends where I live anymore, so I enjoy being able to share stuff with you all on this website. It has been great.

Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

So yes I am a pilot and I fly in a bag of hot air. (About 77,000 cubic feet). It is a very unearthly feeling, to best describe it here is a quote."Suddenly the wind ceased. The air seemed motionless around us. We were off, going at the speed of the air-current in which we now lived and moved. Indeed, for us there was no more wind; and this is the first great fact of spherical ballooning. Infinitely gentle is this unfelt motion forward and upward. The illusion is complete: it seems not to be the balloon that moves, but the earth that sinks down and away... Villages and woods, meadows and chateaux, pass across the moving scene, out of which the whistling of locomotives throws sharp notes. These faint, piercing sounds, together with the yelping and barking of dogs, are the only noises that reach one through the depths of the upper air. The human voice cannot mount up into these boundless solitudes. Human beings look like ants along the white lines that are highways; and the rows of houses look like children's playthings." — Alberto Santos-Dumont, 'My Air-Ships,' New York, The Century Company, 1904." As in all of us,that is just one facet of this diamond in the rough. I was born in 1952 in Wyoming. In late 1967 my family moved to the San Francisco bay area. Guess I was about 15 then. My first Dead show in 1969. That summer we moved to Colorado and this has been home ever since. This is where I saw the remainder of my shows During high school here I was working part time and meet a girl from the neighboring high school. Well we became good friends and in 1975 she married me (and had put up with me ever since.) Sandy (that is her name) is the mother of our two daughters. Both of whom have flow from the nest. One lives in Santa Fe with her husband. The younger daughter lives 40 miles up the road and is pursuing her profession. We have lived in this town for 31 years now and have seen tremendous changes. The citizens even elected me as there Mayor for ten years. (Yes Dead heads can hold positions of public trust. But my being a Dead head never came up.) I have been working for a major Colorado brewer for the last 35 years. Various jobs from beer bottle washer to manager. Now they pay me to play, I get to work and trouble shoot problems that occur in the warehouse operations. We use a main frame computer and data radios to direct the loading operations. Old technology by todays standards but reliable. Guess I will keep plugging away there for a few more years. (Retiring to the south of Spain sounds like fun some days.) I never was a trader of tape and shows, So this vining thing is a new world for me. All of your contributions and insights have helped to make my life just that much richer. THANK-YOU so much. This s being to look a lot like one of those annual holiday letters my brother in law sends out. So thanks for listening. Peace Rick

Hi folks - Great thread.... Hi this is Eric, Ive been on the bus since the early 80s. My first show being the US festival in Devore CA 9/5/82. Since Operator asked.... One of my other hobbies is HAM radio. My FCC issued license is KJ7XJ I have held 3 other class licenses but I will spare the techie stuff for only those who are curious... if your wondering what HAM radio is a good site that can help is ARRL.ORG and for you folks across the pond...RSGB.ORG Im married for almost 10 years and have 2 wonderful kids, a cat and live in a bedroom community SE of Portland OR in the Columbia River Gorge (on the WA state site for those who know the area) I saw my last show in AZ in 1994 and have caught a few other jam band type show since then but my main attraction was the 80s (as I was a teen/20 something with nothing to do but have them follow me around).... I have a huge tape collection which got flooded last summer from a mad water heater and so I got back onto the net and asked for help. I got shown the wonder world of FLAC,SHN trades and since comming back to cyberspace, found the new and improved DEAD.NET site. Right around this time is when the vince thread started. I got in as a "charter" member of sorts... Thanks to all of you who help out... VINE ON!! Eric

I think i am probably the old man of these realms. I was born in the City of Brighton in England way back in the 50's. I first saw the GOGD back in 1970 at the Hollywood festival. altogether i saw the Dead 15 times, mostly in 1990. I worked for the railway in England for more than 35 years and retired on my 50th birthday and moved to Spain coz the weather is better than England and the cost of lioving is cheaper. Bob - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Spanish Jam

I have been married for 27 years and we have 3 sons. We live in Lincoln Nebraska and my boys have now grown into young men and have been in and out of the house, but are all at home now due to college or car payments. The youngest went with my wife, best friend and I to the 10,000 Lakes Festival and caught a fantastic Phil and Friends show in 2005, and this summer my middle son caught Ratdog at Bonneroo. Haven't got my oldest son to a show. Got on the bus (see that thread for my full story) on 6-16-74 in Des Moines, Iowa and saw many shows in the 70"s (Winterland June '77 run and that Dec NYE '77 run come to mind). And then though the early 80's, mostly in the midwest, esp. once the boys were born, then less roadtripping and more home & work, catching fewer shows. Last shows I attended were the '95 Sam Boyd Silver Bowl run in Las Vegas. Have worked in the mental health field in a variety of capacities for the last 3 decades. As I have said before I am 'old school' and I'm working feverishly to keep up with the times. This is MUCH better than the old tapes and letters back and forth!! I have loved the vineyard and all the efforts by fellow viners to share the treasures that the Grateful Dead shared so freely with us. This sharing has been great and I have enjoyed connecting with all of you. It does remind me of those July Red Rocks '78 shows, where I met so many east and west coasters in the middle of the country (a little west of Nebraska, but...) and we immediately connected and 'had a real good time' courtesy of that wonderful venue, our rabid shared enthusiasum for this amazing band of musicians who regaled us all with their wild musical transportation devices, spinning their mystical tales, country, rock, americana, then taking us off into the stratosphere with massive jam/space and slowing down to softly caressing us goodbye with a ballad...until the next show. Take care, Tim

Hi Everybody, New to the (new site). Long time head. First show 3/9/81 at good old MSG. I am real interested in joining in on a vine or two. I have no idea how to get started ...so any help is appreciated. I plan on keeping a look out for new vines as they are posted. Pete