In November, I was extremely sorry to be unable to make the trip to Philadelphia for Jack's wedding. I did not have the time to make four trips East in six months. Several people mentioned they missed me. I'm hoping it's not just because there was extra food.
I was privileged, however, to attend two Jerry Garcia memorial vigils. The first was in Berkeley and coincided with a practice session for the band Don't Look Back. Everybody brought mementos to contribute to an altar. These items included photographs (Dan brought pictures of the Dead playing on the MIT Student Center Steps), J. Garcia ties, concert ticket stubs, and bootleg tapes. I donated selected images from various Internet memorials.
The band jammed for 4-5 hours without a break. They loaded me up with a rain stick, tambourine, and one of those egg shaker things, and encouraged me to help them on percussion. I enjoyed being able to contribute and I also had a great time taking care of a month old baby. When the baby started demonstrating its own percussion talents, I found Daddy and went back to the safety of the rain stick. We worked up a big appetite, and feasted on Thai food well into the night.
The second vigil was in Connecticut and I had to take a Friday redeye to NY to get there in time. A baby cried on the plane the entire trip. In the spirit of Apollo 13, which was playing on the video screens, I alerted the flight attendant, "We have a problem." I suggested we strap the yellow oxygen mask to the baby as they demonstrated in the safety video. I know Jim Lovell would have taken advantage of this opportunity to solve his own oxygen problem, but USAir's flight crew was less willing. I stayed up all night, and consequently looked and felt my best when I arrived in NY.
Since religious reasons (or maybe it is just television) prevent Paul from doing much of anything before 11 AM on weekend mornings, I had some time at the airport before he arrived to get me. Fortunately, I had a free ticket for the USAir Club so I did not have to resort to watching gorillas toss bags around backstage. Instead, I spent the time drinking about a gallon of fresh squeezed orange juice, reading all the local papers, and using the disposable tooth brush British Airways gave me on a previous trip. By the time Paul arrived, I was riding high on vitamin C, and we headed to Jersey to pick up Gary at his new house.
Although the flight exhausted me, I enjoyed the scenery out the window on the way to Gary's. Indeed, much of the fun I had during the entire week back East was from staring out the window of a car and I think we all would have benefited from a car wash or two. Gary's house was one of the few that were occupied in a new development. I encouraged him to seize the opportunity to run for Block Captain remarking that he would have a better chance of winning before his neighbors arrived. He was reluctant to take on any added responsibilities, especially after I failed to cite any benefits. We spent a few hours at his house, and I had a great time doing puzzles and playing with Brett. I also made sure the dollar I gave his Dad on my previous visit survived the trip to his piggy bank.
After switching cars to thwart the gate crashers, we continued on our voyage to Salisbury, Connecticut. The drive was much fun, and we arrived at the house just in time to rescue Dr. J's friends, who arrived before he did. We unloaded our equipment, and prepared ourselves for the onslaught of visitors.
People, and food, kept arriving until late into the night. I spent the night overwhelmed by exhaustion, a moveable feast, a parade of people I had never met, and nonstop Grateful Dead bootlegs. Gary and I traded favorite lines from M*A*S*H just to maintain sanity. Then something very exciting happened: snow! Although I go skiing every year, I have not been out walking in the snow for many years. I had a great time taking late night strolls in the snow and the cool fresh air almost brought me back to the living.
I always have a great time with my Baldwin buddies. As a bonus, by the end of the weekend, both of their wives had bought me pizza. This further reinforced my honor at attending both of their weddings.
The day before Thanksgiving, Dad took Eric and me into Manhattan to check out the city folk. Wandering around midtown, we passed near the J.P. Morgan Library, and Dad suggested we stop in to score some high-brow points with Burt. Since I had not been to the Library for a few years, they were having an exhibit on Jackson through Lincoln, and I had not seen my Gutenberg Bible lately because it was still in storage, I readily agreed to a visit. Also, the previous day I had reacquainted myself with the Baldwin Public Library after a much longer absence, and I wanted to see if Morgan now lent videos as well.
After we spent a few hours relearning some American history, I led the team to Times Square to cleanse the palate and to have some real fun. We grabbed some pizza, and headed over to the Ed Sullivan theater. After dropping Eric off at Flashdancers to make a phone call, I dragged Dad over to K and R's Rock America. I had a great time hanging with my buddy Mujibur. I told him how much I enjoyed his trip Coast to Coast as he gave me a tour of his store. After our voyage, he asked me what I thought of his store. As if I were describing Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, singing with Tom Jones in Vegas, fly fishing in Montana, or the Golden Gate Bridge, I replied, "It's very nice." Mujibur was greatly pleased. Unfortunately, by this time Dad was getting antsy. He kept asking "Where's his friend Dirigible [sic]?" I cautioned Dad to stick to Baywatch and leave late night TV to me. I guided him to the door before I felt compelled to buy a Worldwide Pants sweatshirt.
We were going to go by the Hello Deli and surprise Rupert, but I figured we had already put Dad through enough. Instead, we took Dad to 5th Avenue to examine the store windows and to play with the toys in FAO Schwartz--two things he always enjoys. I found out that night that the Amazing Kreskin was visiting Rupert while we were in the neighborhood, so he would have ruined our surprise anyway.
The night after Thanksgiving, we did something I have been wanting to do for many years: we saw Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger at Carnegie Hall. Since it was the 30th anniversary of the event featured in Alice's Restaurant, we were looking forward to a special show. Sweatshirts depicting all the famous locales in the song were for sale in the lobby. Arlo thought his new release of an updated edition of the album would be received better this time since the original was eclipsed by the release of Sgt. Peppers. He noted the irony of the Beatles specials currently airing on television, and the imminent release of their new album and he remarked that he was in trouble again. At least he has played Carnegie Hall more times than they did.
On the way home, Dad reminded Mom that since we had to get up at 4 AM to get to the airport, she would have to get up at 3 AM to make breakfast. Mom was too tired to laugh, but I enjoyed it. Several hours shy of one week, I was back on a plane home. The final scores this trip were Pizza 3, Deli 1, Chinese 0.
