Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
This Week in Grateful Dead History
Week 1
I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train.
Even the most cursory examination of the lyrics of Grateful Dead songs quickly uncovers one of the most fundamental aspects of the band’s identity: This is an American band, rooted in American culture, and built around easily recognizable locales and deeply American principles and history.
Other Posts
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 9 - February 27, 1969
He Has To Die
Is there any more compelling storyline in the human experience than the knowledge of our imminent death and our unique ability to contemplate it? Think about it. What other factor in your life has had a more profound impact on your behavior and experiences? Drawing a blank, huh?
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 10 - March 2, 1969
I can’t walk you out in the morning dew today
Although she died in 1975, my maternal grandmother, Ruth Raben, née Issakson, has remained with me in spirit, throughout my life. My Grandma played a starring role in some of my fondest childhood memories, and her passing was my first, true encounter with death. I often wonder what her reaction would be if she were able to witness the world her grandchildren live in.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 8 - February 19, 1973
Smiling on a cloudy day
Jerry Garcia was repeatedly in trouble for skipping classes, and was discharged from the U.S. Army after repeatedly going A.W.O.L.; Bob Weir was expelled from nearly every school he attended; and I was suspended for refusing to interrupt a marching band practice I was leading when then-Governor Ronald Reagan visited my high school in Anaheim, California. The common threads running between the three of us are a rebellious attitude towards authority, intertwined with having endured a series of punishments for merely following the well-known Shakespearean principle (as stated by Polonius in Act 1, Scene 3 of “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”): This above all: To thine own self be true.
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