Can I Walk There?: Fare thee Well --- Days 15/26 & 27

Monday, January 19, 2026

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.