Doggy Diner --- Days 15/35- 37

Walks: Hood/Presidio

Average: 4 miles

A reader included the following in response to some ponderous world situation today, and it cheered Ciwt up.

Old New Yorker cartoon:

A dog sits at a linen-covered table, looking at a menu, in a fancy restaurant as a uniformed waiter stands near by.

“ Is the homework fresh?,” the dog asks the waiter.

Who Invented Duvets? --- Days 15/30-34

Walks: Hood & Opera House

Distances: 3.5 miles average

We Begin

Okay, here we go.  The duvet dreaded cover!  Ciwt was brought up in the age of quilts which were all of one piece.  It was still a chore to wash them, but when they were dry, you could just lay them on the bed and be done.  Now she lives in the age of duvets (the quilt part) and duvet covers which require spacial relationship skills to figure out how to get them over the duvet.  Then patience and fortitude as you try again and again to get it right.  And finally arm and back strength to somehow shake the heavy two part whole until it is even (or at least less lumpy).  Luckily there will be back to back football championship games on tv today to give Ciwt diversion while she wrestles with the duvet chore - with luck she'll be finished about when the second game is over.

SFO Beautiful (2) --- Day 15/29

Walk: Hood

Distance: Just 2 miles

“Four Corners” mosaic by artist Emily Fromm 

Another wonderful artwork at SFO Airport's Terminal 1* 

*See CIWT 15/28

Artist Emily Fromm's website: https://www.emilyfromm.com/

SFO Beautiful --- Day 15/28

Walk: Hood

Distance: 4 (cold and windy again) miles

mural by local artist Craig Calderwood

Because Ciwt isn't much of a traveler she hasn't been to SFO Airport's Terminal 1 recently and was surprised - and delighted! - to read the following in our paper:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which assigns itself the daunting task of recognizing the “world’s most beautiful” architectural and design achievements, awarded SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1 its top prize for airports at the Prix Versailles World Ceremony in Paris last month.

And she was even more delighted to see pictures of Craig Calderwood's SFO mural in its various happy and beautiful Terminal 1 locations.  Especially fitting because once upon a time the Bay Area  was part of Spain and then Mexico so there is a strong mural tradition here.

Here is Calderwood's website: https://craigcalderwood.com/#/new-page-2/

A bit more about murals and muralisits in San Francisco: https://www.precitaeyes.org/

Fare thee Well --- Days 15/26 & 27

Walk: Bill Graham Auditorium, Civic Center Plaza

Distance: 4.5 miles

Bobby Weir Homecoming Memorial, January 17, 2026, San Francisco

So Ciwt was into other things while the original Grateful Dead was playing out here in San Francisco and beyond.  At that time her vague sense of them and their followers, Deadheads, was drug addled, left over, hippyish, young people with nothing else to do with their time.  Much later, after their leader, Jerry Garcia, had died and the original members were keeping the music going and the followers following, Ciwt still carried this same impression of the Dead and their audiences.  But when one of her yoga students who was nothing remotely like her vague image told her he was a follower, her mind expanded a bit. Furthur, the most important Dead spinoff at that time, had an upcoming concert, so she thought "Why not?" bought a ticket and went.  She's been a second generation (stay at home) Deadhead ever since.

Even so, when a free public memorial event for Bobby Weir, the legendary Grateful Dead founding member was announced, Ciwt's thinking reverted to the early days.  Well, she thought, it will just be attended by old, formerly drug addled, former hippyish, etc..  But she was very fond of the charismatic 'other one' who had kept the Dead music going for 60 years so off she went to the memorial.  And once again found her image of Deadheads was entirely off.  Yes, there were original Deadheads from the 60's in their 70's and 80's..  Here are a few examples: Nancy Pelosi, Joan Baez, Willy Nelson (on video) and nameless others in the large crowd who were likely retired CEO's, lawyers, fund managers, high ranking government workers, teachers, muscians, restaurant workers, former drug addled kids with nothing to do, etc, etc.  .  Then there were the younger ones - many, many of them - from somewhere in their 60's down through the 50's, 40's, 20's and maybe a few even younger.  The guy in the tie dye tee standing next to Ciwt was maybe 50 and had flown in from Bangkok for the 2 hour memorial, and she read later of people/Deadheads arriving from nearly all 50 states and who knows how many countries, not a few probably in private jets.  

In short, the Grateful Dead had kept drawing people in, the number of Deadheads had greatly increased.  They were there to express love and gratitude to Bobby Weir but there was no sense that Grateful Dead iterations were going to stop or the music was going to do anything besides grow, get interpreted and passed on through present and future generations of artists and Deadheads.  The two are interlocked; there aren't 'heads' without the music and those who perform are energized by the 'heads.'  It all happens in the moment, and somehow can't be captured in any of the abundant concerts tapings and recordings.

The Grateful Dead isn't just a band; it is a quasi-spiritual, musical, energy presence. Once felt, it stays a life time.  Bobby Weir totally embodied that; half spirit, half man, but now, as his friend and fellow bandmate Mickey Hart said, "likely has both feet in spirit."  Weir wrote or cowrote many of the Dead's songs, played them on his guitar and sung them in thousands upon thousands concerts across the States and abroad.  He especially embodied the life to the Dead just as Jerry Garcia did before him. Ciwt missed Jerry and the new Deadheads will miss Bobby, but their spirits will be there and the Grateful Dead, their music and Deadheads will keep growing.

San Francisco Mayor, Daniel Lurie

Joan Baez

Nancy Pelosi

Deadheads, young and old, from all over the world

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/bob-weir-memorial-grateful-dead-21297361.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzXO6zcvp94

Things Change --- Day 15/24 & 25

Walks: Hood errands

Distances: 4 miles each

1960's Fifth Avenue, NYC

Today, Somewhere

Ditto, Above

It's Complicated --- Days 15/22 & 23

Walks: Hood

Distances: short, just 2 miles and some pt (then home for meetings, measurements, see below)

So for aging in place purposes, Ciwt thought: "An Elevator! Why not?" and hired the necessary architect to get the process started.  It's been a few months of meetings, measurements, trips to the Building Department, and back for more meetings, measurements, trips to the Building Department.  So far all she has learned for sure is there are many reasons for "Why Not?"

Now, He's Gone*--- Days 15/20 & 21

Walks: Hood

Distances: 3.5 miles

Bob (Bobby) Weir 

1947-2026

No place to begin; So many memories and so much gratitude held by people of all ages all over the world including Ciwt. His family's statement tells his story beautifully.

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.
 
For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong. 
 
Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas. 
 
There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’. 
 
His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

“If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine

And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung

Would you hear my voice come through the music?

Would you hold it near as it were your own?  

Ripple, words by Robert Hunter, sung by Grateful Dead

*He's Gone  Lyrics: Robert Hunter, Composer: Jerry Garcia, First performed April 17, 1962 during Europe '72 Tour