just seemed not to be able to get it together for this night.

“The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”

This was the last show I ever saw, and of course, the last time I ever saw Jerry. It was also the only show I left before it was over. A friend, who I had been through many dozens of shows with, decided that it was just too boring, so we figured we'd go out to the parking lot and have some fun. Seriously, the scene was just so damn silly at that point, thousands of people milling around without tickets, having zero interest in getting inside, only there to party and destroy what was at one time such a beautiful thing. Anyway, the scene outside reminded me of one of those bazaars in India or someplace, with people just yelling and screaming and selling anything you could possibly want. We had nothing to sell, but it seemed like the thing to be doing. Sooo.... My buddy and I sat at the end of one of the parking lot tunnels, offering up "day old tuna" to whoever walked by. I know it sounds really stupid, but in the context of where we were, it was the only funny thing happening for miles around. Soon, a dude comes up to us with a HUGE cooler full of beer. Six feet by 2 feet, filled with imported brew, the good stuff. He explains to us his predicament; the show is going to let out soon, and he has to go get his OTHER big cooler full of beer, to be able to provide the best service possible to all the thirsty heads that are about to be unleashed on the parking lot. (Obviously, this is just another guy with no interest in the band, just cashing in on our good time.) Would my friend and I be willing to safeguard his cooler while he went to retrieve the other one? Sure, he says, you guys can have a couple on the house, and I'll be back in about 10 minutes. My friend and I felt that we were in no position to deny this guy a favor, right? I mean he's willing to give us a beer and everything. So, we agree to guard the goods. Hurry back, bro!! As I mentioned before, we were sitting at the end of a short tunnel that leads to the stadium from the lot. All of a sudden we get the idea to move across to the other side of the tunnel and let him think that we absconded with his beer, just to watch his reaction. Terrible, I know, but it was absolutely in line with the spirit of what going to a Dead show had become. And I gotta say, to watch the guy flip out for 20 seconds, thinking that we had ripped him off was priceless. We gave the guy back his beer, had a good laugh, and walked off into the sunset, so to speak. A great time, indeed.