Volume 3, May 31, 1996

April 16, 1996

"The Bus Will Never Ever Land"

Sameh Tawfik, San Francisco
Egyptian fan of the Grateful Dead



March, 1996
Dear Brothers,

I just have to say I love you all so deep in my soul! Thank you for keeping the wheel turning by continuing the Almanac, hotlines, merchandising, etc. The music will never stop! I play your music in my classroom so my students can learn and enjoy - if I am late turning it on, they remind me.
Can't wait to see you this summer!

Not fade away,
Lyna Culpepper
Dahlonega, GA

P.S. I miss Jerry really bad...




Yes, he's gone...
And nothing's going to bring him back...
Nothing left to do but smile smile smile
Nothing left to do but release the unreleased, audio and video...
I shall be released-

Peace and Love



April, 1996

Slowly come the words, one by one,
drawn from where they have been one merely
to where they are yet one though not merely so.
If I be awake only one bit at a time so be it;
It is I who am so slow.

Dear Bob,

Why do these things
stake their hold in memory'?
Significances patiently
on hold-you, fox parka'd, just,
to our mutual astonishment, as I;

rushed into the car, a canoe set awash in
Boston traffic, you the bow man, even in the back,
calling the obstacles, which I,
imagining Cassady, and smiling, smiling, smiling,
had just avoided-

Significances on hold! Many faces, much music
intervening,
the world making known to us
its slow, deep music,
G-d playing his tune
through our recollecting.

Even now, even now
even now again, we start
from the beginning to pick up all the old pieces
of songs and significances never lost because
we stoop again and again,
to regain what was lost
all over again.

For Jerry,

So you finally crossed over the line
for good, the line that had never seemed
so solid; where did that music come from,
anyway, or the music of the music? We were
grateful that that line was always so porous;
purposes streamed through it plentifully,
surprising you as much as us. We were all audience.
We are all players, now.
That line will take us through too one day;
we too will be grateful for those
who bring us life in their recall of our purpose,
of when the music played through us,
in their minds still dancing,
as now in our minds you still play.

Shmel Klatzle
Dayton, Ohio



April 18, 1996
Dear Friends,
(more artwork)

So my second son, 13-year-old Jon, lopes into the house with his "cool" library book, GRATEFUL DEAD: THE OFFICIAL BOOK OF THE DEAD HEADS (Quill-1983). Later, I pick it up and begin flipping through its pages, reliving memory after memory. Whoa!!! Page 175 leaps out to smack my eyeballs. The picture -- my St. Stephen etching!!!
"Hey, Jon!" I holler, "my artwork is in your book."
"No way!"
"Way! Look at this." I rummage through a dusty box and produce an original print.
Jon's eyes widened -- they've been wider ever since. Thanks for giving Jon a new respect for his aging Mom!

I was 13, too, at my first Dead concert at the Fox in St. Louis in '71. An amazing night. I was there for them again in '72, and '73. In '77, I ordered Dead Head tickets and drove up to Chicago's Uptown Theater. That concert inspired the illustration, "And Then They Played St. Stephen." I was attending art college at the time, and I tried to recapture my emotions and the vision that danced before my eyes when they played that unforgettable song. I guess I sent a print to the Dead Heads -- this I don't remember, but then there are many memory gaps from those times.

The guy who accompanied me to Chicago soon became my husband. We took our firstborn (age one) to the Dead concert in Edwardsville in '80.

Did 14 years really fly by before we went to another Dead concert? Guess so. We were busy raising our boys (soon there were four) and when the Dead came to Riverport in '94 and '95, we could hardly afford tickets for the two of us -- much less the kiddos. How GRATEFUL we are that we were able to be there for Jerry's last tour.

Enough rambling. I would like two things. 1) To know where I can purchase one or more copies of the OFFICIAL HANDBOOK. 2) To ask that (if possible) in future editions of the book, my name and the correct title for the page 175 illustration are included: SANDY URE GRIFFIN (unknown no longer), "AND THEN THEY PLAYED ST. STEPHEN" (you were close).
Thanks for a lifetime. See ya at Deadpalooza.

Sandy Ure Griffin
Ballwin, MO


Thanks, guys, for your decision to continue to tour.
You don't know how happy you've made us,
or how good it feels to be able to say,
"See you on the tour!"

Julie, Ron, & Cheyenne the Wonder Dog
(See artwork)



March. 1996
Missing Poppa Bear...

What I want to know is whether or not GDP is still in operation. I am tired of stories to the contrary. Please set the record straight by sending me an update along with a catalog of available merchandise! Any info. concerning the band would be great too!

It it sounds as if I just blew in from another planet...I did! I just finished up a prison sentence for drug related trips...A joint's still a felony in this state! So I have been out of touch for a few years!... And I've decided to go legit with vending...incense, oils, jewlery, shirts, banners, stickers, etc...new age related stuff. So any helps will be greatly appreciated! And that makes for a satisfied customer!
All good thoughts to all - you too!
I await your reply...

With Love & Light
Wolf
Las Vegas, NV
Peace!




JERRY'S REPAST
February 1, 1996

Above Robin's house they blast-
redish-orange puffs of creation,
moving in silent demonstration
over our mourning nation.

One cannot help but feel elation
in the face of this iridescent celebration,
Allah's quiet ministration
for the man whose music never stopped.

It is there!
Floating through the air,
raising children's hair,
drifting into hidden lairs to wake dreaming bears:
THE GIFT
of a man who made us stand;
who made us dare;
who asked if we care.

Jerry Garcia thrives in crimson space,
high above the Golden Gate,
his gentle eyes staring down,
upon this world-full of Sound.

Jerry says "hi" to Wavy the Clown
then gives Weir a fretful frown.
He tells him:
"I'm just kidding around,"
"Billy and Mickey will hold things down,
and you know Lesh wanted to settle down..."

His friend the Sun laughes
and cries, "Come on Jerry, time for the next town."
"Oahu, remember?"
"Oh man, it's beautiful in September!"
What a sight!
this Chinese Dragon kite of light,
with colors sunning
True,
dropping slowly into the Blue...

"2001" scenes;
nightfall screams;
scarlet beams; and
Acid dreams;
Jerry Garcia still plays serene.

Like psychedelic roses dancin' holy poses,
Red Clouds sigh across the sky
and lead me to wonder why
Everything
eventually
passes by.

Erik B. Johnson
San Francisco




January 1, 1996
Hey Now!!!

I know it's been more than four months since Jerry's passing and nearly a month since the "OFFICIAL" trip was called to an "END"-
But - As I'm sitting here ushering in the first year without the DEAD I've seen since 1978 - I felt I had to write you guys a thank you note-
We traveled thousands of miles, nearly two decades worth of years, and countless beaming smiles together - you know our love will not fade away

THANK YOU FOR A REAL GOOD TIME!!

John Harris & Scott Spears
Oklahoma City

....We love you more than words can tell....
Thank you and stay in touch



April 1, 1996
Dear Phil, Mickey, Bobby, Bill, Vince,

We rode to the moon on a silver spoon
We soared to the sun on the wings of a dune
We left the road driving madly through
the woods listening to the tune
I don't know where it is, but we could
be there soon
Just melting in the haze on a lazy
Summer day, blooming like a flower in May


Hey now the Grateful Dead have
passed us by but live on through
our hearts in every tape we play
in every song we sing in every
beat of our wings
Hey now could ya'll release from
the bottomless vault the last
Dead show we Deadheads have
come to know
After all it's all a dream we
dreamed one afternoon long ago....

Love ya's, won't ever let the
dream go and we think the
idea of a Terrapin Station
is real cool, Take care, Hope
to see ya'll this Summer...

Shelly & Tom Rumberger
Apex, NC

"A box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through"

P.S. You guys have all brought alot of joy to our lives. We have two little girls Amber Dawn and Terra Sky, age 4, and we all love your music. Amber is dancing to Jerry Garcia and David Grismans not for kids only, she loves it, she's 20 months old. I wonder if Amber will turn out to be a musician someday, her birthday is one day before Jerrys. You never know maybe Terra will. We're trying to encourage a love of music in both of them.




March 26, 1996

Dead On The Wall is an upcoming exhibit at the Huntingdon Beach Art Center (June 29 through September I, 1996). The Huntington Beach Art Center is a non-profit contemporary art center. Like many other Deadheads there has been this emptiness inside me since my continual adventures to Dead shows (42 all together) have ceased. The Dead On The Wall idea came clear to me as an opportunity to not only to help fill this emptiness, but to bring the Heads together and educate those who are unaware about the Grateful Dead and the Deadheads. This is also a way to pay back the Grateful Dead for some of the wonderful things they have given me. I envision a visual story about the Grateful Dead phenomenon and their related culture, by having an art gallery filled with the rarest and most sentimental Grateful Dead related belongings

I have discovered that I am not alone with believing this is a well worth cause. The more Deadheads I mention the idea to, the more support I receive. Help has been offered by local Dead cover bands and their supporters (300+).

What started out to be an Orange County collection of pieces has now spread to Deadhead communities in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. The list of items submitted for the show is amazing. Plans are in the making for a grand opening that will include an outdoor art market with vendors, bands, drum circles and even a Dead car show.

No doubt that you (the person reading this letter) are a big Deadhead and know a lot of big Deadheads, not to mention the guys themselves, so please see if anyone is interested is contributing to the show. Any Grateful Dead related belonging will do. All items given to the show will be on a loan basis for the duration of the show. Everything will be professionally handled as well as insured.

The deadline for submitting items into the show is April 20. Please see what you can do to help out in this noble quest.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Chris Cole, Guest Curator
Huntington Beach Art Center
Huntington Beach, CA

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