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  • jennyg219
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    On The Bus
    My first show was 4/6/85 in Philly, and I loved it, I was on the bus right away. Now I am happy to say, and be able to realize what I am saying it, (!!) that I'm still on the bus, but I also got on the wagon!, 3 years 3 months clean and sober.The Grateful Dead is ALL about the music, the sound, the togetherness. It's not about what you can get in the lot that will totally annihilate you. I want to read through all these posts, but I just trekked into the forum for the first time tonight and I'm a bit tired. Glad to know everyone is out there!! Stay strong, stay sober and listen to the music play!!! Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile!
  • DaffyDuff
    Joined:
    Thanks
    Just wanted to say thanks for the feedback and support. For the first time I'm talking about it and picking up the phone. I'm 41 yrs old and about to start a new journey. It's about time. The month rehab really helped, something I was always against. I think it might have saved my lilfe. I just have to stay the course. What a feeling waking up with a clear head. Peace
  • Teedawg
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    I went to my first rehab
    I went to my first rehab program in 1983, and was clean for about a year. But old habits kicked in again, and I was a bad boy until 1998, a few months here and there clean and sober, but nothing permanent. I was not happy where my life was at that point, and finally wanted to lift the fog and haze from my life, and now 9 years clean, and serene, something I am glad I did. I will never go back. I attend a meeting or two a week still, to keep my program working. But it took many a night talking to my sponser till dawn, and a dozen meetings or more a week, and this worked for me. Deadheads are rare in the UK, let alone one's that are Wharf Rats, but I sure wish that there was one at least that could understand seeing shows, loving the music and people/scene. I miss that part of my life. Keep your program working and go to lots of meetings.Peace.
  • Lopezz
    Joined:
    Hi Daffy
    I go to NA meetings in Missouri. Ive been clean 9 or 10 months now but still feel like a newcomer. I havent started working the steps yet but the meetings still help me stay on the right path. Drop me a line if you ever need to talk. Keep coming back! Robert
  • shack
    Joined:
    hey daffy!
    i went to a lot of wonderful shows as a whole bunch of us have. you are experiencing a divine opportunity right now brother. you got a 28 day kickstart into looking at things differently. i am 2 yrs and the clouds have definately cleared. hell, now i hear all these little idiosyncracies that were not in my earbuds before. i suggest you surround yourself with real people that don't have to drink and use shit drugs to see what is so much there already in front of them. our little wharf rat page here had a too long of a gap recently as you may have noticed and i offer the chance as a whole slew of others involved within this thread do to: stay connected. there is a bunch of support here and other places in the real world: if you seek it. stay in "touch" and have a grateful day! peace, shack
  • DaffyDuff
    Joined:
    "I'll Get A New Start, Live The Life I Should"........
    Just released from a 28 day inpatient. I need all of the support I can get. Hitting an NA tonight. Someone please give me a shout out please. I have to do this. Hopefully see the Wharf Rats somewhere out there. Peace.
  • hippiechuck
    Joined:
    the dead 08 tour maybe?
    HippieChuck -ive heard rumors of the dead possibly touring this summer...am i misinformed,does anyone have that same idea?????
  • Frankly
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    Be Careful
    This goes to all the wharf rats who might be working in a job,where they can be tested on drugs.AND THIS IS NO JOKE!...it has been prooven that if you eat a bagle with poppy seed or a cake with a poppy seed filling and afterwards undergo a drugtest u will b tested positive for opiates..and might loose your job not even knowing why.peace to u guys and stay clean!!!
  • 143or245
    Joined:
    WWJD
    WWJD...something i picked up from shack's posting...what would jerry do?...and i think i will use it, thanx shack! stay safe and feel good! >><<<< :>
  • shack
    Joined:
    you know our love will not ...
    ... fade away! bop bop bop - bop bop! ya know kids, the gd were and still are a really wide band. in a ton of ways, they had "dimension." that is what i like about not gettin' buzzed just to be able to listen to them. the "trip" i am on now is one that includes the fellas almost everyday. my first song at my first show was a 'bucket.' go figure, i partied ass. wow, i am glad that viewpoint is over. the stance i have on the music now is all about another dimension. no drugs and no alcohol is a way to stand there and listen (and dance) and have this awesome communication with the artists that i care about most in the world. we have all these people out there telling us how to act and who we owe an apology to (something that happened to me inna email) and these people just do not know the vantage point that includes my perspective. i am so lucky to have seen and feel this whole experience from a range of view. i really like the one i am experiencing now. i already did the other stance. it was good then and this is now. what would jerry garcia want me to do. i think to be true to myself and take a look at the world from "over here." ... you know our love will not fade away! have a grateful day! peace, shack
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17 years 5 months
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Welcome, Wharf-Rats.
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16 years 8 months
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I'll be sittin' in the " No Alcohol " section at Wrigley Field 5/5.Cubs vs Giants.........Game time 1:20 pm Tickets still available :o) It would be so cool to have a whole WharfRat section at Wrigley. See you there. November and more as I wait for the score. They're tellin' me forgivness is the key to every door.
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15 years 10 months
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I will be at the DCU 4/18...this will be my first show w/ out being "chemically" inconveienced...will there be a wharfrat meeting there? And how ill I know they are there and where ? Also I haven't recieved my tix yet...has anyone out there recieved there's? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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15 years 8 months
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thank you... i am so grateful to be here.. when ratdog.org went down, i wondered where i would find some kind fellowship... WHARF RAT: 8 years; 9 months; 5 days... glad to be here...
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17 years 1 month
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Are you the other Charlie I met in PA? If so, Welcome friend! If not, Welcome friend anyway!Peace, Love and Recovery,lefty
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17 years 5 months
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tj crowley traditionally the 'table' is identified w/ 'yellow ballons' usually there's a banner (wharf-rats)attached to the wall inside milieu(s) will have table on main floor directly behind drums/stage above all..if even staying w/ the wharf-rat folk is un-comfortable, the same two feet that brought you dancin in can bring you to the exit sign(s)
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16 years 5 months
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Hello friends, Haven't visited the forum for a couple of months now, but very happy to announce that I recently celebrated my 1 year birthday - hoping to get to a show or two out west in May. If I can make it, I will certainly be on the lookout for fellow wharfrats - would sure love to meet some of you! Kym
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15 years 10 months
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Hey people, DC and Charlottesville are just a couple of weeks away! I'll be doing my 1st shows sober. My last shows were in NC 89 right before getting sober. I'll be on the lookout for the table and yellow balloons-can't wait to see you there!
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16 years 9 months
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Hey y'all. I'm going to Greensboro and the 5/5 Chicago shows. It's just me, one ticket. I'm super-excited but also a little wary because of the cunning, baffling nature of this disease. Any folks here I could meet up with before/after these shows? (Can't wait to look for the yellow balloons!) I want to really have a good, carefree time, and not feel weird if there are triggers, y'know? I've been clean for a few years now but haven't been to hardly any shows. I went to tons of meetings the first few years, got a strong foundation I guess. But for the past five or so – the familiar story – I've gotten "busy" with life: having a kid, work etc. I'm grateful to have remained clean during this time. Actually, since getting my ticket for Greensboro, I've been to more meetings than in the the last five years. But still not in the middle of the boat as I was when first clean. I was so excited when I found archive.org a few years ago. I got back into the Dead without getting tangled in the scene. But it's just been me and the music. My wife – who I met in recovery – unfortunately doesn't get the "dead". Thank god for this forum. Once again, I realize I'm not alone; there are people out there just like me! Peace. ---- I was blind all the time I was learning to see.
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17 years 5 months
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tj crowley not sure if i'll be at any show(s) due to price of tckt's BUT march 28th will be my anni
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17 years 5 months
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RODGER ALLINSON alas yet being clean and sober now for the past six years i can really apreciate and respect what being a wharf rat is all about when i was on tour all those years i could'nt even begin to imagine the concept but now i,m glad that as i go to shows this spring ill have a network to plug into
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15 years 9 months
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Hey Jimmie C and all wharf,sI'll be at Wrigley 4/18, with 11 years clean and sober. I'll let you know how cold it was. -PEACE-
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15 years 8 months
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I've got 8 yrs and L.A., May 9th is my first Dead show, is any one else going??
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17 years 4 months
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Celebrating the resurrection of The Dead on Easter Sunday in Greensboro. Yellow balloons/tables on the premises?
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17 years 4 months
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I'll be there, Lord willin'.
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15 years 10 months
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Well the final weekend before the tour has come and gone, and no west coast freebie, warmup, sendoff, nothin, zilch (I was hopin). Guess the days of the unanounced free show in Golden Gate Park are over. Oh well, see all of you west coast rats @ Shoreline. Hope I don't go into DTs between now and then (deadlirium tremuns) "I'll get up and fly away"
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15 years 10 months
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I have looked for WR groups around chicagoland to no avail.Nobody seems to feel like typing.
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15 years 7 months
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Hi, I am looking for a kind soul in NYC to sell me 3 tix for the 042509 MSG DEAD show for $200 total. I realize this is CRAZY-BELOW the price on the tix. To compensate for this I am offering you a FREE 3 NIGHT stay in San Francisco. I have a lovely studio apt located 3 blocks from the Powell Cable Car turnaround and would love to share my space w/ you for free. SHORELINE May 10th, SHORELINE May 14th, and you've got a free place, heck, I'll let ya stay at my place from the 9th till the 15th!! (Shoreline stay ONLY offered for Wharfrats, and I pay only $150 for the 3 tix) If this works for us, I have a relative in Manhattan that will pick up the tix and pay you, Of course, I am sure we will speak prior. search words to pull up my post quicker: SF NYC MSG Mountain View CA 05/10/09 05/14/09 051009 051409 0510 0514 042409 0424 04/24/09 04/24 $200 $150
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16 years 1 month
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Sorry I havent posted in a while.....life on lifes terms. IM SO EXCITED-its been hard to work, think, eat, sleep, I know you guys understand! April 12 will only be my second show sober but I CANT WAIT!!! I am gonna be doing the family thing most of the time but will be hanging with the Rats too!!!! Did I mention IM SO EXCITED?????!!!!! c u guys sooooooooooon!
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16 years 9 months
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Anyone know of good meetings in Greensboro or Winston-Salem Saturday night or Sunday morning? I'd love to get a meeting in before the show.
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16 years 11 months
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Greensboro, NC I'll be there. 15 yrs clean. See you guys under the yellow balloon. It will be my first WharfRats experience.
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15 years 7 months
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I am just discovering this Wharf Rats thing. Feels like comin home all over again. I have been to lots and lots of shows but hopefully(if I can find a ticket to buy!) May 9 in L.A. will be my first sober show. I have 7 yrs of good trudgin here in L.A. but I'm really excited to see the dead when I'm sober I am REALLY EXCITED!!!!!! LIFE IS GOOD!! May the four winds blow you safely home
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15 years 10 months
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just 2 nights and a wakeup Wife and I are taking our 18 & 20 yr olds to their first show... they grew up listening to The Dead and they are as stoked as their ole man. It was my 20 yr old son that noticed it would be the 38th anniversary of my first show... pretty special and will be my first with my children (double special) See everyone at the Meeting between sets ... Been clean n sober 26 years and gonna shake these ole bones one more time... :-)
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16 years 11 months
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What time will the wharfrats gather at the Greensboro show? Any good Narcotics Anonymous meetings in the area?
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17 years 5 months
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I found out about them 2 years ago at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN. This past 17 March 2009 I celebrated 23 years clean and sober. I thank God I survived the 15 years before that. Let your life procede by its own design.
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15 years 10 months
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Hey All,Can't wait until you come up to NJ/NYC. My name is Jason and have been a wharfrat since 2002. Looking forward to seeing you up here! Have fun tonight :) Can find me on aol Notfadeaway18, give me a text when you get to NJ. Jason
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15 years 7 months
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Hey All, Tammy from Philly, PA here, 78 days sober, my 1st sober show will be in Philly Sat May 2nd and i'm nervous, looking for wharfrats to help me stay sober and dance the night away. Please contact me so i don't have to sell my ticket out of fear, i had to give up all of my ppl, places and things. JazzKittenPoet@yahoo.com
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17 years 5 months
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tj crowley meetings usuaaly are during the break but the table is attended to throughout the show
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15 years 10 months
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Looked high and looked low ... No Wharfrat table at the Greensboro show Couldn't find table nor meeting between sets ... Glad I wasn't Jones'n
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15 years 7 months
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I hope to see the yellow balloons at the show tomorrow in Albany. There's nothing like a Dead concert sober!
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15 years 7 months
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Wow, we ended by loudly singing a line from "Black Peter" starting with "See how everything leads up to this day" and people were stopping and staring and taking pics. Big Daddy Don said Jerry sang that at the WR first show. Thanks to the guys at the table for being there when I took a break from the freaky Space stuff the Dead are doing now. I'm SO GRATEFUL for my WR fam and wouldn't have made it these three shows without you!
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15 years 10 months
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Yea, I couldn't find the rats at the greensboro show either. But I had a great time. Thats 6 clean shows for me and looking forward to many more. The boys sound great I hope they start touring more often. This summer or next fall would be killer.
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15 years 10 months
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Made my shows in DC & UVA clean and sober. Thanks for the yellow ballons at both shows. It was a comfort to know you were there, if I needed you. My brother rode shot gun for me. Miracles in sobriety never cease.
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15 years 6 months
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Hello family,Going to the Mountain View show, 6 of us Clean, not Dead Heads. Hope to get to meet some of you there. Anybody going? Janice
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15 years 7 months
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MSG SHOW... WOW!!!! I went with my 69year old Dad, My Brother in Law and a friend. We had section 401, but MIRACLED floor seats, both sets! Cosmic Charlie, U J Band, He's Gone, Gimme Shelter all SUPER DUPER!! Mid Set break Wharf Rat mtng, very nice, extra special. The meeting was so packed, "normies" in the hallway couldn't get by! Hahaha. I shared, said I was Wharfrat from SF. Very warm, good vibes. Sobriety countdown, beautifull. Confetti was thrown and my thick hair soaked it up. I think some of it remains. St. Stephen w/ confetti, in and out of my hair, like spaggetti... I will be at Shoreline both shows, Call me up, my name is Lew. (415) HOLY-GUY Wharf Rat AA mtngs on Thursdays at 8:15, Noe Valley SFCA, hope to see y'all there...
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15 years 7 months
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FYIOn this site's video page, the video of Greensboro featured Big Daddy Don on the floor dancin with his crazy hat! When I met him in G'boro I didn't know who he was, but I found out at the other shows. He was a valuable asset to me at the shows and generous to my driver, gifting her some "Cats Down Under the Stars" jewelry.
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15 years 6 months
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Hi Everyone, Sounds like the shows are amazing and everyone is havin' fun doin' it sober. I live in Carlsbad, CA and was wondering if anyone from San Diego is heading up to the show on May 9th. I'm newly sober and would love to go to the show. I need to go with some wharf rats otherwise I won't be going. I'm leavin' it up to my higher power. I'm puttin' it out there and seein' what comes back. Cuz I no that the life I was livin' was no good but I'm gettin' a new start to live the I should. please email me at phreeang@yahoo.com if you have any info, would like to chat or are goin' to the show and you have room for one more sober head. Lots of Love, Ang
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15 years 9 months
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I see no one has posted to this in a few years so I am reaching out in hopes that someone will respond...any wharf rat action at the 2009 shows?
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15 years 9 months
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Ok, now the site is acting funny..as soon as I posted my question the 2009 comments came up LOL. Hugzzz
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16 years 5 months
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Coming out from Arizona for my first SOBER show on 5/14 and hoping to put some faces to the names I read here. Where should I look for the table and balloons - somewhere inside the venue would be my guess. Will be visiting with friends in the area, but will be on my own at the show and hoping for support! Love y'all - see ya soon!
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15 years 10 months
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Gettin close to showtime folks...would love to get together with other clean and sober rats before show and share experience strength and hope. I went to the NYE Phil/Ratdog shows and my sobriety was in jeopordy for a while. Need to make sure I'm plugged in for this. I plan on getting there very early (lawn seats). Shoot me an email here or rhollis80@yahoo.com ♪♪♪ "I'll get up and fly away" ♪♪♪
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15 years 10 months
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Thanks for the table in Hartford! My 5 years and my buddies 1 year sure did appreciate you being there.
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15 years 7 months
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Meadowlands was great!! Looking for a safe place to meet on lot in Philly?? I'm doing a few shows with Louie, and am always happy to give out a one show sticker and a hug. His Falafal/ Jerry Roll booth is impossible to miss on shakedown. Also looking for an extra ticket both nights.. Haps/ Flaps/ 7 Laps
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15 years 10 months
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Original Wharf Rat from the East coast now living in Wyoming. 24 years clean and looking for Wharf Rats to hang out with at the Denver Show. HP provided a clean rider by "coincidence" when I posted on a local board. Email me at lonesomejohnnie@hotmail.com or call me at 307-248-3117 (cell). Some folks trust in reason, others trust in might, I don't trust in nothing, but I know it'll turn out right.
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15 years 6 months
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Haven't seen any version of The Dead since I sobered up in 2000 and am heading to Shoreline on Sunday... can't wait to feel the music again. Will be with a solid buddy but am hoping to find a meeting at set break... any suggestions from those in the know?Enjoy the shows, take care of each other and be well. Thanks for any help you can hoffer. "once in awhile you get shown the light"
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15 years 7 months
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Just wondering if there will be a booth at the Forum for us? Didn't see one in Philly.....
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16 years 1 month
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wow! what an amazing trip-ya a little strange too I guess!!! Hit up tables in Greensboro, D.C. and Charlottesville-which was AMAZING might I add-Black Peter is so powerful-great shows-great sobriety-I even got some great bumper stickers for my car! Now people can come up to me and ask who August West is-or what a Wharf Rat is for that matter-lol!!! I love all of you my brothers n sisters-thankx for being part of my family!!!peace, love, n sobriety-hcm
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15 years 10 months
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I count 19 shows and no Wharf Rat. Maybe Shoreline?...
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15 years 10 months
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Phil and Friends: 50 times, Ratdog: 45 times, Other Ones: 12 times, The Dead: 1 time ♪♪♪ "I'll get up and fly away" ♪♪♪