Grateful Dead

sounds like a great guy. Condolences to his loved ones.

WAY too young. So sorry.

I missed the Big Star craze, but "gimme a ticket for an aeroplane" was in my DNA before the Dead were. Safe travels Alex Chilton.

legendary photographer and even more legendary character about whom we all have many tales, passed away last night.

Bay Area legendary character. You might well ask why I am posting the former owner of the Warriors here. Well, it's a long story, but... Back in the early '90s, when AOL was just a baby, I frequented the dogs area as well as the GD area, and one day a guy posted that he was in the Berkeley area and looking for a live-in caretaker for his dog when he went on frequent biz trips. I sent him an email recommending my dogsitter as a likely resource. He thanked me and said oh by the way, if I ever wanted tix to a Warriors game I should call his secretary Shirley, and she'd set me up. It was at that point that I put two and two together and realized I was dealing with Franklin Mieuli His Bad Self, but aside from getting a big kick out of it I thought no more of the matter, because I did not care about Warriors games... Cut to a few weeks later. I pass my boss's office. My boss and the head sales guy are bemoaning the fact that he has foolishly given his season tickets to his daughter and her friends, and now the game is sold out and he is shut out and is going to be stuck in the parking lot listening to the game on the radio waiting to give the teens a ride home. Excuse me, I say innocently. I couldn't help but overhear. Perhaps I can do something. Whereupon I gave them the short explanation and went and called Shirley, who quickly set me up. I made my way back to the boss's office, where he and the sales guy were still stunned, as nothing in my previous life had suggested I would be a source of tix to a sold-out Warriors game. Okay, here's where to pick up the tickets, I said. Only thing is, I think I'd better come along and use one of the tickets because I have a feeling someone might come looking for me. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than the receptionist is at the door looking slightly worried and saying, Mary, someone calling himself Franklin the Dog Lover is on the phone and he needs to talk to you right now! Boss is looking even more stunned. So I pick up the phone. "Shirley says you've got tickets for the game tomorrow but she doesn't think you're using them yourself!" a voice hollers. Thanking God for having anticipated this eventuality, I said truthfully oh no no, I'm coming and it would be great to see you! So Franklin goes away mollified, my cred at the office is through the roof, and in due course off we go to the game. Where we have quite nice seats, in the low 100s for those who remember the Coliseum. And we're just settling in and commenting on our good fortune when a woman in a Warriors office uniform comes up and asks if we're Shirley's party. And the next thing you know, we are in the courtside seats next to Franklin, getting the lowdown on all the players even as they come crashing into us. It was, shall we say, an unforgettable experience. EVEN ASIDE FROM THE FACT that unbeknownst to me, this was the very night at which the Rex Foundation was to present the check for the Lithuanian basketball team's uniforms to Sarunas Marciulionis, who was on the Warriors at the time. So not only did I get to catch a lovely halftime ceremony, I found myself in the VIP lounge at halftime with several band members and a slew of my Deadhead pals. So thanks always to Franklin the Dog Lover, and safe travels to him.

what you said.

healing vibes to all John's loved ones.

so sorry for all your family's been through.