THE MAILBAG 4.30.96 1996
[Postoffice]
[Archive] [majorlinks]
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996
From: RSbklyn@aol.com
Subj: Cosmic Chile
Hi Robert,
#1: keep the chile, check your spelling (trust a New Mexican). Chile is
the 'very pungent fruit', chili is the spicy beans-beef stew. OR no beans,
OR no beef, variations are expected and encouraged and eaten. Some chili
recipies call for no chiles...cold! Anyways, may I suggest adding a lot
more spice (chiles, currys, chutneys, habaneros, whatever) to the site.
Now that you're Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, you can spice up this gumbo
all you want.
#2: re The Giant's Harp. So you put this aside for 10 years, and thought
you would maybe just touch it up? HA! So now you're doing a massive rewrite,
with 18(?) more chapters promised...and MAJOR new web duties? My advice
is...STOP reading this letter, CLOSE those windows, STOP your rampant computer
nerdism right this minute, and CRANK THAT MOTHER OUT. Because I really want
to read it.
#3: Oh yeah, this is why I was writing. Please forward the following to
Cosmo Nitram if you know how to get in touch with him.
Cosmo, baby, keep up the wood gurk.
Thanks,
Richard Shaffer (RSbklyn@aol.com)
As for the computer nerdism, the new pdf file of Giant's harp I just put
up last night contains the first 3 chapters so people *can* read it, at
their leisure, off-screen. It was hard to figure out how to get Acrobat
files to work, had to read the manual, but now I know and it's dead easy.
That slowed my writing down last week, granted, but it's smoooth sailing
now,
Also, the pressure of getting the chapter written for the weekly (now 10
day) update is what keeps me working at it. If I gave myself all the time
in the world, I wouldn't get to it.
Thanks very much for the encouragement on the book. I've received little
comment on it, by which I judge people just don't read books on a screen
-and good for them!- so I figured I had to get it to them in a format they
could, and possibly WOULD read..
rh
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996 6:44 PM EDT
From: SRGayle
Robert,
I enjoy your Web page...enjoyed the last performance of yours I caught even
more (Boulder Theater a few years back).
Although I can't really say that I share your (obsession?) with computers,
we do have at least one thing in common...a keen interest in words as the
key-to-the-heart. I admire a poet's ability to create foils that illuminate
and MOVE the listener. In my own (sometimes nightmarish) world, finding
the right key can sometimes make the difference between life and death ...I'm
a criminal defense attorney specializing (by happenstance and by inclination)
in the defense of capital cases, and the occasion does arise where a turn
of phrase can strike the heart of just one juror in a sufficently enlightening
way as to MOVE that person to vote for life...most often it works where
the words serve only as a conduit from heart to heart.
Anyway, as I said I enjoy your web page and encourage you to soldier on.
And just how do you manage to deal with all your mail (E and otherwise)?
Steve Gayle
Date: Wed, Apr 24, 1996 2:13 AM EDT
From: RSbklyn
Subj: pdf---in' great
To: K9Luna
Robert,
I just now downloaded the Acrobat and opened the Giant's Harp file...and
HAD to say congratulations...so...Congratulations!! It's beautiful! Way
to go! A giant's leap forward for your website.
See ya,
Richard
Date: Wed, Apr 24, 1996 11:32 PM EDT
From: Jerrapin@aol.com
Subj: Just wanted to say...
To: K9Luna
...hello after all these years, Robert. Went to my first Dead show at the
Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ on 4/27/77. Caught you opening for the Garcia
Band at the same venue with Comfort in 1978, then again opening for JGB
on a short southern California tour in 1984 (during which you claimed to
wear the same pair of socks for 3 or 4 shows in a row!) Your lyrics and
music have had a great influence on my life and continue to mean a lot to
me.
Your wonderful presence on the Internet thrills me to no end. Some of your
writings on your web site show that you have a deep concern for deadheads
and fostering the feeling of community that we all shared at shows. This
is very comforting to me in this time following Jerry's death. What a wonderful
gift from you to all of us, sharing your journals, breathtaking writing,
thoughts and ideas, as well as providing a forum for deadheads to brainstorm
ideas for carrying into the future the incredible amount of positive energy
that the Dead helped us develop.
Thanks so much for doing this!
Also, your Library of the Uncanny inspired me to share this story: (see
Library -rh)
Thanks for everything, and please stay in touch with all of us.
Love,
Jolie
Subj: brief note
Date: Thu, Apr 25, 1996 7:02 PM EDT
From: erice@msn.globaldialog.com
X-From: erice@msn.globaldialog.com (Eric Epstein)
Sir,
I've heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but, frankly, I
don't necessarily think it's so. There are words that evoke images and
memories, even smells that that could not be captured with pictures. That
is
what your lyrics do for me. I have been a fan for over 25 years and have
always been attracted to words. The passing of Jerry was a great loss but
by
no means an end. He was only a part of the chain. Your words have influenced
me more than any other contemporary writer, and for that I want to thank
you. Not only have they influenced me, but my children and I suppose, down
the line, their's as well. People ask me why I majored in English in college
and all I can do is smile. When I hear a new song, it has to have something
to say, or it is not complete. (that is unless it is an instrumental of
course).
Lyrics are poetry in every sense, a fine tune is just a bonus!
Just some thoughts..........
SMALL PARTS
Time flows by like comets in the night
Bright for the moment but quiet in our fright
Time goes on to meet the spirits in the sea
As brief as it's endless...as captive as it's free
Time reaches on much further than the sight
Horizon to horizon, details seem so trite
Time counted on, time forgot
Time lost, time taught
Children go on thinking they've seen an awful lot
No one told them, no one thought
That their time to be counted, counted not
Why are some things so difficult to see
Yet so plain to others, that others could be
Circles ring circles, lines continue on
Sunsets seem to always lure the dawn
Pieces of pieces, still boundaries being drawn
Time's no beginning, time's no end
Yet somehow, strange, somehow, it always seems to bend
Latitudes cross longitudes, calendars do change
Perfectly natural yet it often seems so strange
I wrote this in 1976 and it still seems to ring true to my vision.
My family and I have spent the last 12 years hand building a stone and wood
house in the woods in rural Wisconsin. I find it refreshing to know that
the
60's and 70's counter culture that I thought had disappeared has not...I'm
finding alot of them have retreated to cyberspace.
It's funny, are you familiar with the New Riders Of The Purple
Sage's first album? There is a song... "Last Lonely Eagle", I
don't know who
wrote the lyrics, cover liner's been gone for several decades. I guess they
really haven't gone down to the "gas powered flatlands....and cut off
their
hair". We all had to make some compromises to get by, but our basic
philosophies have surrvived intact.
Thanks for listening......Eric
PS When I said words are important....My 15 year old daughter is laying
on
the couch reading "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac...she checked
it out of the
library on her own....there is certainly hope for all of us!
Hell of a letter, Eric.
Cruising through mail. I don't have time to give it the reply it deserves,
but I read it and your poem attentively and will proudly post them in the
mailbag next week. Thanks
rh
Subj: Cyber Frustration
Date: Tue, Apr 23, 1996 7:17 PM EDT
From: grateful@ultranet.com (Reilly L. Platt)
Hunter,
I have tried three times to send this sucker to the address you gave
and it keeps on bouncing back with a does not exist notice???????? So, in
frustration I'm sending it to the email address and hope it gets there.
Saw the Portia cheer in your mailbag. Yippee, wish Patricia could
see it but for some reason at home I can only see the first two mailbags,
the third says it has wheels on it, yet at work through aol I could see
it. Some kinda link problem no doubt. I use netscape at home.
Will get to friend to see new wallpaper as the computer at work did
not emulate all that well. Who knows why. Patricia is quite excited to see
changes.
New thought on net self publishing, I've got a million stories to
tell, so Portia's page could have something new every single day!!!!! I've
been accused of being a raconteur (sp?) so I might as well really do it
up.Thanks for your ideas and modeling of what a growth page can be.
Consider this a variation on a theme of yours:
Our duenna come
a'callin
Saying the unsaid,
waking the dead
words to life.
Poets take her
to wife,
our Duenna.
What's it all mean they ask?????????? tee hee
Patricia just insisted I come up for dinner. Sound familiar?
High steppin' - Reilly
Reilly,
haven't heard those problems from other sources, so I assume they're native
to your computer(s) . The new mailbag is larger than the others - perhaps
that accounts for it.
rh
Date: Tue, Apr 23, 1996 11:56 PM EDT
From: RSbklyn
Subj: Ham, man
To: K9Luna
Robert,
Not to be Mr. Correction or anything, but I noticed something odd in the
beautiful (I can hear you reading it aloud) "Cupful of Rain."
Your fonts have always looked great (I've got a 13" color Mac Performa
monitor), but the 'r' and 'm' in 'harm' run together, so the line looks
like "God bless you and keep you from ham." I had a good LOL!
Not bad advice maybe (though I looove that pig), but probably not what you
meant. Maybe this is extra-trivial...and Heaven Forfend anyone discovering
Healthy Values serendipitiously in your work...just thought I would mention
it.
See Ya,
Richard
ps-The blue & white tye-dye background for "Cupful" is gorgeous---and
I don't think it affects the print.
Richard,
how could you have thought I meant "h a r m"? I am really on a
rampage against bacon and just because I chose decorous words to state my
message doesn't mean it should be misread.
Down with the Pig!
rh
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996 9:24 PM EDT
From: RSbklyn
Subj: Deadlines
To: K9Luna
Robert,
I can't believe no one else ragged on you for Chap. 4 being late! You really
have me intrigued...and Isa sure seems to have some very human traits already..."vanity
of vanities, all is vanity"! I love the serial format, can't wait for
some MAJOR cliffhangers...you already got the cliff!
I can't agree more about the value of deadline pressure. I'm a (strictly
amateur, so far) screenwriter, and the workshop I'm in, and it's hard-ass
leader, are what make me do the work, quite literally. I wish there were
a Muse of the Deadline (Polly Hardassia, maybe), or some way to make self-imposed
deadlines REAL deadlines. Funny how the Muse always shows up when there
is a real deadline...but always making certain demands. "OK, Polly,
whatever you say!"
See ya,
Richard
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996 5:50 PM EDT
From: HighAcres2@aol.com
Subj: More chili
File: ANICHILI.GIF (6602 bytes)
Hunter,
In response to your graphixquery, I lifted the chili you had purloined from
somewhere and animated it. For this first version, the jalapeno ripens,
and then is dried and smoked into a 'chipotle'. When I learn how to use
this shareware tool (GIF Construction Workshop) I'll teach the chili to
space dance.
Last night I read Dog Moon and it got me to pondering, 'why is monosyllabic
such a long word?'. This train of thought led me to wonder, why isn't onomatopoeia
spelled like it sounds?
-Steve
P.S. I found Dog Moon entertaining, then disturbing, but ultimately satisfying.
Most literary adventures with a time-slip twist to them leave me feeling
cheated, but Dog Moon came to just the right level of resolution. Thanks.
Subj: evolution
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996 11:45 PM EDT
From: beckrule@ix.netcom.com
X-From: beckrule@ix.netcom.com (Eric Becker & Vanessa Rule)
To: K9Luna@aol.com
Dear Robert,
Continued thanks for your continued efforts and commitment to this ongoing
experiment. It has been heartwarming and somewhat tearjerking to follow
the
messages posted on the site. It sounds as if your new responsibilities for
the Dead site may curtail time spent on your corner of the pie. So be it.
It
was getting tough enough keeping up with your weekly rants. Every 10 days
would be just fine, thank you. Or every two weeks or every month, for that
matter. As long as the vitality and spirit are there. As long as you're
turned on by it.... But please don't let all these zeros and ones get between
you and your family, for God's sake, for Jerry's sake, for my sake. And
don't miss another midnight swim, dammit!! We Bostonians don't have the
option, so you better take advantage of it since you do!!
Peas,
Eric Becker
Subj: This weeks letter
Date: Sat, Apr 20, 1996 3:09 AM EDT
From: poleson@ptialaska.net
X-From: poleson@ptialaska.net (Peter S. Oleson)
To: K9Luna@aol.com ('K9Luna@aol.com')
We have all been drawn up by our bootstraps these last few months, some
of us think that our world has fallen down around us. A long time ago, sometime
in the late sixties, in the midst of multiple arrests, I made a conscious
decision to follow the Grateful Dead where it would lead me. I had no real
contact with other like minded people, I really can't say that I followed
any body's lead, I listened to a lot of different music then. I bought Jack
Jones version of "The Race is On". I remember waiting for my dad
to string a long wire across the night so that we could bring in the Grand
'ol Opry and I sat for many hours in front of the old tube radio, listening
to the real country music (not this stuff you hear now) pardon me all you
country newbies. I remember painting my Honda 90 pink while I listened to
the newly released first Gratful Dead album. I was impressed, but there
was so much good stuff coming out then, I didn't get really hooked until
the second album, which was so much stranger than the first. I bought Live-Dead
when it came out and I was hooked. What is this stuff?, I had been to concerts.
I saw Cream, Canned Heat, a whole bunch of others at a weird concert at
Iola, Wisconsin that ended in an Altamont preview with bikers lying on their
stomachs for miles along the highway in their underwear and cops holding
shotguns to their heads. Then the Epiphany came- the release of Workingman's
Dead and American Beauty. Thus were melded the songs I was raised on and
the new music that some called rock and roll. I graduated high school about
then and began to go to beer bars that featured blues musicians: Lucille
Spann I remember clearly, singing some of Otis's old stuff. It was about
then that I ran afoul of the law in a big way, herbal and lysergic problems,
you remember those days. I packed everything I owned and my girlfriend (now
my wife of 23 years) in my 1946 Dodge pickup and we headed for Alaska. The
Last Frontier. The end of the highway. Oh the problems we encountered along
the way. Another chapter, another time.
The point at which I am driving here is that I, and I don't think I'm the
only one, became a person whose life was linked very closely to a bunch
of people-you included- that I didn't know, but whose songs evoked from
me a feeling of how I should be. The Grateful Dead became the light I followed
through the darkness that was the end of the '60's. I can't explain it,
but it happened to me, I wasn't there, but I was there in spirit. Am I the
only one? Can any of you help me understand this thing? Where can we go
with this?
If you get confused, just listen to the music play.
(rh-forgive me for using this for my forum, I am working on my own home
page. I have been busy this week installing a larger hard drive, next week
I will tell you about the time Jack and I got busted for mooning Lt. Reynolds,
God willing.)
PSO
Subj: Mailbox
Date: Thu, Apr 25, 1996 5:53 PM EDT
From: ddrangin@mail.state.mo.us
X-From: ddrangin@mail.state.mo.us (David Dranginis)
To: k9Luna@aol.com
We had lived in Boston for maybe 10 days. Flush with the adventure of the
new city we'd scored tickets to the show and hardly noticed when pulling
into the Texaco, our tired bus Bertha belched out of gas at the pump. Tight
with the dough, I dropped a fiver in and headed down to find this pub, the
Channel.
With Jer fresh of the coma, Billy, Brent and friends sallied out to cool
the
hungry throngs. Tonight a special guest would light it up as well. Standing
in the bar, pleasantly buzzed and cheering with the rest, assured at the
opening chords, ah yes a dead tune. "We can share the women, we can
share
the wine" My cheers exploded as I flashed that these were not as much
"Dead
tunes" - these were indeed Hunter tunes.
It was a real thrill seeing you perform. That Promontory Rider rocked the
house. I can understand now that your energies are focused here - and to
such fantastic effect !!! - and your road gigs may be done.
The love that burns bright burns here. Dead heads? Grateful Dead? Jesus
Christ? William Blake? These are not altogether unrelated. Blake burns that
tiger in the night as your Tiger Rose does as well, dear Robert. What joy
your thoughts and images have wrought. Generous and giving. Now I find on
the net that you are, as we had all long imagined, a cool and rational guy.
I recall a "typical" deadhead if indeed there is such a thing
on a news
broadcast explaining the unexplainable to the unreachable that the Dead
were
"like . . . the best thing". Bravo and indeed they are.
Some years before discovering Joseph Campbell and perhaps his discovering
the band and its evocative and beloved mysticism, I wrote a college paper
for a comparitive religion class. Religious forces in today's culture: the
Who and the Grateful Dead. As I wrote a candle-lit vigil was happening for
the just-shot John Lennon. The Dead's portion of that paper related the
Dead
"experience" to a vehicle by which one transcends "profane"
time to a taste
of the eternal. Little did I know then what a long-standing relationship
I
would come to have with this music and in turn with you.
Funny that at Riverport last summer, second night, before that incredible
He's Gone through to Stella Blue when Jerry just shone like an indescribable
beacon of hope and love. This in the wake of the Deer Creek madness, when
souls seemed heavy and dis-spirited. Garcia belted and crooned repeating
to
the choir the soft image of Stella Blue over and over. THIS is worth it.
THIS is why we're here and, it's alright. Anyway, on the hill there amidst
smiling kind people who have similarly been so nicely influenced by you,
I
got it again. GOt this thing which for 17 years had eluded me; that what
the
dead and we do, on THOSE nights, was to bend time. You have been there,
I
know. Spread the Magic.
Four weeks later I sat dazed in the cool dewy grass of a late New England
night under a bright moon. We'd just that day buried my dad and bid farewell
to the sweet gentle bear whom many today call papa.
Hey Robert, thanks man. I hope you someday see this and smile. You provide
hope and light on this strange journey of the 20th Century. Kudos for
latching onto this wave of our collective future and setting it to shine
as
you have done to brighten faces along our path these many years.
In all good time,
Dave
Dave Dranginis
Columbia, Mo
·
Dave,
many wise men have said, in many ways: we see what we are.
What you've seen in me and my friends is yourself written large, and your
report is good.
rh
Subj: No Subject
Date: Fri, Apr 26, 1996 3:46 PM EDT
From: MSUGARMAN@lrp.com
X-From: MSUGARMAN@lrp.com (Marc Sugarman)
To: k9luna@aol.com ('smtp:k9luna@aol.com')
Robert,
My first Grateful Dead-related concert was a Jerry Garcia Band show at the
Capitol Theater in Passaic, N.J., some time in 1975. The opening act for
that show was a solo acoustic act called "Uncle Vinty."
Was that you?
Folks I was with at the time said it looked like you and sounded like you.
Can you solve this 20-year mystery?
Of course, I can't end without saying how much the band has meant to me,
my
family and friends through the years. As we endure this silent spring, it's
occurring to me that the words, even more than the music, is what will
endure most in our hearts and minds.
Marc,
t'warn't I. I played under the alias of Lefty Banks when I was with Roadhog,
but that's the extent of my anonymous file.
rh
Subj: A note to say thanks for past works and your current Web site
Date: Mon, Apr 22, 1996 6:00 PM EDT
From: wetherbee@2way.ENET.dec.com
To: k9luna@aol.com
CC: wetherbee@2way.ENET.dec.com
I'm a bit in awe writing to someone who I hold in such high regard,
but, I guess I've never been too afraid to jump into the water when it's
offered.
I'll get this first thing out of the way. I've admired and just loved
your work since the late 60's when I first found the Grateful Dead. Your
words
and the band's music have been a huge part of my life, over these
many years.
I also really have liked your site and find it's a truly wonderful
thing to have an opportunity to experience another facet of your
work in this manner. The method, the journal, mailbag, hidden goodies
are just too cool for words. I'm really glad your doing this.
But I do have a couple of things to say besides mush.
You mention in your journal, "Why buy records when there are free tapes".
You
more than likely have been over loaded with reply messages about this, but
I
think that most collectors also have bought everything the Grateful Dead
have
released. I know I have, and all the collectors that I know, buy anything
as
soon as it comes out. I know my wife cringes when she sees an incoming
catalog.
I also want to comment on another remark of yours.
"My business isn't the business but who the business is for".
THANKS.
A wonderful part of the Grateful Dead experience has been the
quality of the people in the organization at every level.
I think the business is going to find that as time goes on, the
core group of fans will stay loyal to any quality venture you guys put out.
This core group, who want to continue in whatever fashion,
may be a lot bigger than the buisness thinks. I know I'm not ready to call
it
quits.
I also think you will find that more and more, the fools and gladflys start
to
leave as they find the "Next Cool thing".
I think any member or group of members of the Grateful Dead, "Further"
as an example will find we won't have the problems of the 95 tour and
you won't have as many idiots bugging you as time goes on. This year may
have
some problems, it's hasn't been that long, but as time goes on we will have
less. I laughed, when I read the organization has concerns about selling
tickets.
I do think that if any members of the band want to play their music,
they are always going find people scrambling for tickets.They may not fill
mega
stadiums, but will be able to fill the mid to arena size venues.
Thanks for many years of enjoyment
Brian Wetherbee
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 12:45:12 -0400
X-Sender: tcranmer@popmail.scsn.net (Unverified)
Mime-Version: 1.0
To: mailbag
From: Tom Cranmer <tcranmer@scsn>
Subject: Message for Robert Hunter
Robert,
Just wanted to let you know a little something that happened during
the recent total lunar elcipse the other week.
Here at LakeCrazyFingers (see footnote 1) my 3 year old and I were
viewing the eclipse at about 7:50 PM east coast time and, doggonnit, the
eclipse with certain images cast upon the moon was a distinct Steal Your
Face! No Doubt about it. I called my wife out into the yard to see also,
and she just smiled with amazement. It was the darndest thing.
We proceeded to phone some other local folks who would certainly understand,
and some even vidio taped the thing. We had discussed how it was just the
right sun light coming from the other side of the Earth (from under I guess)
and was shining on the bottom part of the moon and eluminating just the
right
parts to form the lower portion of a Steal Your Face. The surrounding lighted
part was the ring around the rest of the moon (you know, A Red Moon Rising?)
to
form the top and sides. (? space your face?).
Well to make a short story long, it turns out that a local DeadHead DJ named
WeirdBeard who does the local dead hour was getting all kinds of phonecalls
reporting the phenomenon.
Soooooo, about 5 or so days later, the news comes out that Bob and Deborah
and
the Ganges Scandal ;-) was taking place just following the eclipse in India.
So, being the fine scientists that we all are, we did research to determine
sunrise time in the Ganges region with relation to eastern United States
time.
It turns out that at the exact time that Bob and Deborah were releasing
Jerry's
ash, (just one, you know) into the black muddy river, we were seeing the
development of the Steal Your Face in the moon. Jerry was no longer standing
on the moon, He was the moon. It was cosmic. Just thought you would need
to
know about the timing. (sunrise India was 5:46 am, which was 7:46 pm East
Coast
Time, in Columbia SC. (Rock Columbia?))
We later read your message to Jerry, It is beautiful and surfaced emotions
from us again.
Have a nice day!!
Tom & Betsy
LakeCrazyFingers
Columbia SC
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 08:44:43 -0700
From: llpoe@ix.netcom.com (Laura Poe )
Subject: Magic Bus Music Forum http://mbus.com
Greetings,
Congratulations on your recent acquisition of the Dead.net. Granted,
you already live in silicon country and probably have enough talented
people to help you on your new endeavour, but we here at Magic Bus
Enterprises want to step up to the plate and -volunteer- our services.
My wife and I run the Magic Bus Music Forum on the net, which is a
truly interactive database of up and coming bands & clubs and both
regional & national music festivals around the country.How about a
Link, we currently link to the dead.net and supply updated info on the
Further Festival. We also have the honor of creating Vassar Clements'
WWWsite(http:mbus.com/vassar)[please note vassar is still under
construction, but will be final in a day or two.
After Jerry passed over, we still had the incredible urge to pack up
the musical caravan and drive. However, we didn't know where to go, so
many roads ya know? So we decided my wife should quit her job
(computer engineer) and start the Magic Bus Music Forum. I maintained
my job as a sound engineer to stay in touch with the industry and to
feed my addiction for sound pressure and stress.
We met each other through Jer' and the boys, and have been in bliss
ever since. The music must never stop! We want to ensure that the
music doesn't fade away, so if there is -anything- we can do in regards
to the web site or anything for that matter please, zap us back.
Regards,
Christian & Laura Marks
http://mbus.com
mbmf@mbus.com
X-Sender: dac15460@u.cc.utah.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 15:44:36 -0700
To: mailbag
From: D.Collmer@m.cc.utah.edu (D.Collmer)
Subject: Louise
Another mystery solved. Many years ago in Texas, I saw Leo Kottke in
concert. He told a story to introduce his song "Louise". Lots
of folks
think this is Bonnie Raitt's song, and she does a fine job with it, but
Leo
wrote it. Anyway, Leo was courting a ladyfriend, and she had this roommate
named Louise. Ol' Leo thought to himself, "If I can just really offend
her,
maybe she'll move out." So he wrote this song, and sang it for her.
(I bet
you thought it was a really sad tune, didn't you? I get the giggles now
every time I hear it.) It backfired on him, as she inexplicably *liked*
it,
was too dense to realize how insulting it was.
So now we get more insights into why Kottke wanted her to vamoose, and just
how much material he had to work with writing a song to insult her.
If you're not familiar with this song, you are now completely confused.
Oh well.
If I raised your curiosity, perhaps you'll put some $ in LK's pocket.
BTW, RH, THANKS for putting up this fabulous webpage! Literate, fun,
personable, interactive (the mailbag, which looks like a good place to meet
up with some interesting deadhead keyboards). And thanks for being so
generous with your own words. (First couple times I posted anything
publicly, I felt completely exposed and quite stressed. Guess you're used
to it after all these years.)
Mind if I quote a few of 'em for a cyberspace piece I'm writing? Not for
publication, just an exercise in gathering my own thoughts about it, and
in
stringing words together for my humble writing group. Though you state here
that a lot of this stuff is pretty much up for grabs, my mother raised me
to be polite.
Looking forward to delving into The Giant's Harp, as well. So many words,
so little time.
mirth and merriment
Debbie C
X-Sender: dac15460@u.cc.utah.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 19:17:20 -0700
To: mailbag (Robert Hunter)
From: D.Collmer@m.cc.utah.edu (D.Collmer)
Subject: Re: Louise
you wrote:
>Debbie,
>
>is my face red. I thought D Colmer was a guy
>& insinuated he knocked up
>Louise. So it was Leo Kottke, was it? That smart-ass hot shot fingerpicker
>has a lot to answer for.
Robert,
Since I thought it was funny (a story making fun of someone who happens
to
be female) am I going to be called sexist now? :-)
(Guess I shouldn't even mention that other song about the girl he didn't
marry, Pamela Brown.) Still trying to figure out which of your songs have
been accused. Has to be the story songs.
And to think that I started writing something very serious last week to
send here. After several pages, I decided I'd actually written a partial
and ragged first draft of my "experiences in cyberspace" piece,
would just
embarass myself before a talented writer w/ lots of mail, and wrote on a
whim today instead, after bopping around the page a bit more..... Aren't
you glad I waited? :-)
dac
who is enjoying the computer at home way too much
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 16:09:28 -0400
X-Sender: debess@mailhost.jlc.net
Mime-Version: 1.0
To: mailbag
From: debess@handel.jlc.net (Debess Rogers-Grabazs)
Subject: was Believe it if you need it, but now from a different address
Hello Robert,
I read this week's mailbag and surprisingly saw my letter in it...
unfortunately, the email address looks bogus, and therefore I never
heard back from you...and I guess I won't get any responses from
others who might have had similar experiences...that's a bummer.
But maybe you will try to respond again?!? (I'm writing from my
home account, which should translate easier? - debess@jlc.net)
I am truly interested to hear what you think about the spirituality
surrounding the Dead, and if you think some of your experiences around
the time of Jerry's death were, indeed, of another dimension...
Since I am sending you some mail, I thought I would also send along
some Dylan news. I went to see him a couple times this past week,
and both of the shows that he put on were -very- different in
musical style.
When he played "All Along the Watchtower" the 2nd night I saw
him,
it seemed that the jam at the end was so different, much more spaced out.
A trend that continued all night. I was in heaven, knocking on heaven's
door, so to speak ;-)
"Silvio" (SILVIO!) was the highlight of the night for me. (Do
you know
that he plays this song EVERY night to end his first electric set? He
also has been doing "Alabama Getaway" as his first encore every
night
since Jerry died). Anyways, when Silvio was played, there was no doubt
(in my mind ;-) ) that this show was a tribute to Jerry. The jams were
so reminiscent of the Grateful Dead sound, I was just floating in space,
and I was loving it. I couldn't help noting how this song was done
very differently than how it was done at the show I had seen 2 nights
before. Very cool. He is now doing the chorus almost a capella, and
very slowly too, to really enunciate the words. You would be very
honored to hear him do this song, I am sure.
When the band played an acoustic "Friend of the Devil", complete
with
the sound of the peddle steel that Jerry sometimes filled that song with,
and the JAMS, wonderful acoustic jams...heartfelt voice...the deadheads
in
the audience were grateful, excuse the pun ;-)...that song was really
moving.
And also "Maggie's Farm", which to me, again had the Dead touch
to it
and was played in a different manner than the other night. Some great
spaced out sections. I couldn't believe it.
He encored with "Alabama Getaway", which there is no doubt that
he's
doing for Jerry. And the last encore was "I Shall Be Released"...
I came out of that show feeling so happy that I was lucky enough to
have been there to hear Dylan working through what we're all working
through. Hey, ya know, I feel you're absolutely correct about the ashes
thing - as long as the music lives, so does Jerry.
Debess
To: debess@mailhost.jlc.net
From: mailbag@dead.net (Robert Hunter)
Subject: email address
Cc:
Bcc:
X-Attachments:
Debess,
yes, I heard reports on Dylan's shows and am indeed flattered.
Your email address being wrong is a bummer. I'm sure you would have got
several replies. I'll put this one in next weeks mailbag to give you another
crack at it. I think people would like to hear the Dylan show report, mi
casa su casa & so forth. I wrote you a good reply, though I don't know
if I kept it - unless I printed it with the letter, which I doubt. So much
work on the page I disremember.
rh
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 20:51:27 -0400
From: Dan Boylan <dboylan9@gdi>
Mime-Version: 1.0
To: mailbag
Subject: Keep the Chili Pepper....
Robert,
For a relative newbie, be quite proud! And SiteMill DOES rule! My best of
all to you as Webmaster.
Your journal is the closest thing we (I) have to the music. Sounds strange,
but live always beats Memorex. And
it can hardly be too personal for those you share it with. Thanks and keep
those cards and letters coming!
--
<<< Dan >>>
>" Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile !"<
Subj: L7Sol
Date: Fri, Apr 26, 1996 3:41 PM EDT
From: jsalmon@netaxs.com (John Salmon)
Dear Robert Hunter,
I have just discovered your Web Site (how it evaded me till now I know
not), and have enjoyed it tremendously. Thank you for sharing yourself and
this body of work.
I must tell you how wonderful it is to suddenly find myself capable of
communicating to you, after you have (unknowingly) said so much to me over
the past dozen or so years. I must now tell you how frustrating it is that
a) I don't know what to say, b) what I say must be said in words that seem
to convey so little of what little I have to say, and that c) I am silently
typing those already impotent words into a rather prosaic little grey
appliance.
So let me choose a message that seems a comfortable fit for this medium.
Technogeek stuff, of course.
You were wondering, in the Journal, about viewing Acrobat .pdf files
inline, in the browser window. This is easily accomplished by downloading
Adobe's Amber plug-in for Netscape 2.0. It is easily found at the Adobe
site and mirrored at Netscape's. The appropriate link to their site will
make it easy for your visitors to do the same.
- - "Oh no, he's sending me his poetry" Department - -
Ok, here we go... Here's a lyric I've written. If you get the slightest
enjoyment from it, 'twould go a small way towards settling my literary debt
to you.
"The Fool Reversed"
Nothing could be finer than to
Sit here with my limbs on fire
Waiting for the postman to return
Cross the deck and climb the mast
Crow's nest full of plaster casts
Punch the yellow button watch the whole thing burn
She's a real fortuneteller
Mother was a debutante
Father played piano in a ragtime band
Vitamin D poster child
Two years later running wild
She can see a train wreck in the palm of my hand
She take me apart just to see how I work
Put me back together all wrong
My brain is Armenian, my heart is a Turk
Their arguments keep me up all night long
I know I'm not your liontamer
Recumbent in your antechamber
Huffing model airplane glue and dry vermouth
You must admit it's quite ironic
Pour another gin and tonic
Flash me alabaster thigh and vampire tooth
My fate is sealed, signed and delivered
Wrapped in rushes, sent downriver
You rarely see a Greyhound bus on these back roads
My tongue is black from Good 'n' Plenty
Hold your breath and count to twenty
Laugh like Peter Lorre while my head explodes
She take me apart just to see how I work
Put me back together all wrong
Like a one-eyed hunchback soda jerk
At a country club where he don't belong
The retard with the heart of gold
The double-D cup centerfold
And all the other players in your cast of fools
Where were they at curtain call
High on sodium pentathol
Playing strip canasta by the swimming pool
I'm sorry I said your friends were shady
The fat man and the bearded lady
The unicycle rider with the Bettie Page tattoo
I guess I wasn't thinking honey
How's I to know they'd steal your money
And leave your Barracuda smashed on Rue Morgue Avenue
She take me apart just to see how I work
Put me back together all wrong
Believe me boys the girl's no good she'll make you berserk
Like a tightrope walker I just keep moving along
Nothing could be finer than to
Sit here with my limbs on fire
Waiting for Bob Dylan to return
Cross the deck and climb the mast
Crow's nest full of plaster casts
Punch the yellow button watch the whole thing burn
She's not a real fortuneteller
Mother was a cocktail waitress
Father was a drummer in a psychedelic band
J.C. Penney poster child
Till hormones started running wild
She can see a train wreck in the palm of my hand
Thanks for listening. You've had a huge influence on me, believe it or
grieve it or like it or not, as a writer and a biped.
Take it easy,
John Salmon
jsalmon@netaxs.com
John,
great letter. I loved the poem..
Glad we finally got in touch.
rh
X-Sender: bryan@bcpub.com
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 11:52:35 -0400
To: mailbag
From: Bryan Dumm <bryan@bcpub.com>
Subject: Link and Laugh
Howdy,
Check out the What's New Section in our Tour browser,
to see your link.
http://bcpub.com/contents.html
I thought you might get a kick out of the way that I
"borrowed" your page when you try out your link.....
Bryan
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 08:44:43 -0700
From: llpoe@ix.netcom.com (Laura Poe )
Subject: Magic Bus Music Forum http://mbus.com
Greetings,
Congratulations on your recent acquisition of the Dead.net. Granted,
you already live in silicon country and probably have enough talented
people to help you on your new endeavour, but we here at Magic Bus
Enterprises want to step up to the plate and -volunteer- our services.
My wife and I run the Magic Bus Music Forum on the net, which is a
truly interactive database of up and coming bands & clubs and both
regional & national music festivals around the country.How about a
Link, we currently link to the dead.net and supply updated info on the
Further Festival. We also have the honor of creating Vassar Clements'
WWWsite(http:mbus.com/vassar)[please note vassar is still under
construction, but will be final in a day or two.
After Jerry passed over, we still had the incredible urge to pack up
the musical caravan and drive. However, we didn't know where to go, so
many roads ya know? So we decided my wife should quit her job
(computer engineer) and start the Magic Bus Music Forum. I maintained
my job as a sound engineer to stay in touch with the industry and to
feed my addiction for sound pressure and stress.
We met each other through Jer' and the boys, and have been in bliss
ever since. The music must never stop! We want to ensure that the
music doesn't fade away, so if there is -anything- we can do in regards
to the web site or anything for that matter please, zap us back.
Regards,
Christian & Laura Marks
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 08:51:29 -0700
To: gfuldead@iastate.edu (eric thorberg)
From: mailbag@dead.net
Subject: Re: other things
>the purple wide truck entered the lower lane as we all screamed our
>hellos and goodbyes. i wonder why the purple dye took place in such
an
>awful way but hey hey all systems go and tomorrow we don't know. all
>things being the same i wonder if that monkey came all the way just
to
>partake in some of that blueberry cheese or he just enjoyed the ride.
no
>sense was intended just some fun and games. it really pains to bring
>about some crazy lout. the singing songs groove through my skull, a
>piece of hell a piece of heaven, so far away yet here to stay. fishy
>scratches his head upon that which never falls upon the light i see
upon
>my eyes forever hazy often glazy. words in order to tell the story,
>minds envision to make the glory. our lives sifting through the time
>eternal only revised by them internal
Eric,
the quick green fox jumped over the platinum retriever.
rh
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