Dear Mom - Letters to Heaven

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Jerry Garcia Week The Days Between August 9, 2012



August 9th - all good things come to an end, but do they?  Apparently the day Jerry died his astral vibe knocked out electrical systems around the Bay area and the airport had to shut down for a while.  Energy transformed?  In Oakland on August 9, 1995, the ATC system lost all radar and radio contact with airborne planes down for one hour and eighteen minutes 333 flight delays attributed to one operational error (I bet).  It's a mystery to me and I'm okay with that.  When its my time I'm diving right in off the Tee Dock at flood tide.  I'll say this Jerry week has got me writing again and on a daily basis.  Its hard to divide up the energy between advocacy, work, home and playing/learning the guitar, plus I want to add painting back into the mix.  You're life is like a block of clay mold it however you want.  Keep trying.

Today's selection from the archives is the "I don't know how it got there" show.  That's right where the heck did this tape come from?  Anybody know?  Seriously.  I'm one of those that knows where everything is in the house and for the life of me I can't remember where this tape came from.  I remember a total stranger handing me the Duane Allman Grateful tape at a party once back in the 1980's remember the moment clearly but this one baffles me.  And of course its wonderful.  Oklahoma City 11/15/1972. 

A lot of serious fans will be familiar with this show why?  Not because it was mass produced and sold in stores but apparently it was passed around so much I don't even know where the damn thing came from?  Why?  Because right now in fact and in my ear Jerry and the band are playing some serious bug music.  It might be under the cover of Playin in the Band but it stopped being that song about 10 minutes ago.

And so it goes Kurt last nights gig surprised me it was such a mellow affair.  I had people right on top of me but it was a burst of energy and then it cascaded down from there.  Personally I like it quiet and mellow I can work on my flat picking.  I'm no Tony Rice not even the gum on his shoe and I'm trying out a new flat pick.  I got to deliver some lyrics really trying hard to inhabit the song.  Reminding myself while not screwing up the chord changes to not just merely repeat the words.

Because I don't plug in (remember the environment) my finger picking doesn't deliver the sound waves needed for this room.  So quiet is good for me.  It's odd how the music has a life of its own.  And while I was thinking I'm loosing the tourists and locals I stayed in the groove of the moment.  I couldn't shake the groove.  When its like that you probably shouldn't.  No table full of ABB fans getting rowdy just surprised individuals watching quietly.  More contemplative I got my nods, smiles, comments and applause to let me know they were with me but it was definitely a set I didn't think was going to come out. 

So that's it for Jerry week no great secrets unfolded just a reminder of the mystery.  And if that's what Jerry brought to the table he did yo-mans work for the creative forces.  All I'm sure of is that there is a creative energy with a mind of its own and we are active participants.  Manifested in a lot of different ways including dinosaurs and us are we not just as ridiculous stomping around, thrashing tearing everything and each other up or quietly being leaf eaters?

Music teaches us to listen.  It can be just another distraction from contemplation another cacophony of the unexamined life but its safe to say that Jerry's kids although sometimes caught up in the trappings listen more completely, more actively, with their hearts and minds.  Its fun being conscious of the collective consciousness.  Its even better when we put the positive out into the jet stream.  Listen to the music play and don't be in a hurry for it to unfold.  Its a life lesson.  Let it wash over you like a warm waterfall.  Floatation is groovy.  I could play it small here but I'm not so enjoy the journey the trials and tribulations.  The truth carry's the day even though we don't always see it eventually even the most ardent denialist wakes up.  Carry that zig, zag, prankster spirit with you and let that bemused and amused smile come out but be careful who you bonk.  The cynical bullies serve their purpose.  All aboard the segue is on its way.  You bet I had a dead sled - Paul (~):D

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