On Tuesday Stephen Hayward noted the ten year anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, admitting in the process that The Grateful Dead has been for him a "not-so-well-known guilty pleasure". As for me, I have no such guilt about being a Dead Head, although I understand the hesitance of some people to "come out", owing perhaps to respectable jobs in large stuffy corporations, where co-workers or bosses might make uninformed assumptions about what being a Dead Head actually means.
And there are certainly different interpretations of that phenomenon. In one conversation several years ago, when the subject of the Grateful Dead came up, I unabashedly confessed "I'm a Dead Head". The response from my friend was "No you're not...you have a job!"
My son works for one of those large stuffy corporations, and he took the courageous step of coming out earlier this year:
Could it be that fans of this great band actually aren't all roaming, homeless hippies earning a living selling veggie burritos and bead necklaces in parking lots? I suppose it could just mean that some of them have moved on...or jumped onto the Phish tour, although even that has now come to a close. I guess I'll just hold out hope that a meaningful life can still be had, even with a frightening addiction to the song "Black Peter".
Of course I blame myself for my son's Dead addiction. Yes, we took him to see the band even before his voice changed, but it doesn't seem to have derailed his chances for professional success. His admission was occasioned by the start-up in March of a blog for people who remain too fearful or ashamed to take the leap. Closet Deadhead, (which is actually more of a podcast site than one featuring a twelve-step program of some sort, or assertiveness training) is worth checking out for diehard Dead Heads, be they outed or closeted.
And by the way, take a regular look at No Left Turns, the Ashland University-based blog where Mr. Hayward is a regular contributor. I liked the guy even before I knew his dirty little secret.
Posted by dan at August 10, 2005 11:55 AM