One of the sports sites I visit discusses a San Francisco Giants’ promo tonight to commemorate Jerry Garcia’s passing 15 years ago click here. Brings back some memories.
I was at work that day when my daughter Ryan called very upset, in tears and informed me that Jerry had died. I asked her why she was so distraught and she replied something along the lines that it meant the end of her post-high school plans – to become a Dead head and follow them around as they toured. The end of her dream so to speak. Although I commiserated with her, I did the dad thing and tried to cheer her up she was still very upset.
Shortly after I got off the phone with Ryan my buddy Ronnie called from Little Rock with an opening line “Wish I’d gone to see him now.” Ronnie had been back in the County in June of 95 and when Ryan gave me 2 tickets to the Dead’s concert at RFK I had invited him to go. He was tied up and couldn’t make it. Thus the comment. Ronnie too is now gone and I’m beginning to wonder if Dead isn’t kind of an operative word here.
On a sunnier note my favorite Dead song is Sugar Magnolia which I first heard 30 some years ago performed by a band named Tranzfusion click here when they were playing at the Ark & Dove Pub (located where the Callaway Food Lion is today.) I remember going up to them after the song had concluded and asking who did it originally. I was a little surprised to learn it was a Dead song. I tracked down the album with Magnolia on it and it still remains my all time favorite Dead song to this day. (With a line like “Head’s all empty and I don’t care” how can you not like it!) Here’s a video with Bob Weir discussing the making of Magnolia. P.S. Tranzfusion is still rocking and doing their thing in Ocean City.