Club Brown

On my way to work this morning I heard Uncle John’s Band by the Grateful Dead. I used to really want to be a die hard hippie, a dead head. I wanted a VW camper van with all the trimmings and a braless girlfriend with the name of a season. I wanted to spend time wondering the earth following the grateful dead on tour. Don’t ask me why. I like to be clean and I like VW busses but not the camper one and my friend married the girl with the Season name and she is not a hippie chick at all. The one I married you could not pay to go braless. I have not followed the Grateful dead to a single show. In fact I don’t think I have ever even seen them like on a DVD much less been to a live show. When the Jerry Garcia Ties were all the rage back when I wore ties for a living I didn’t even own one. I bought one of those cocktails under a microscope one. Remember this was Bible School and I was trying my hardest to run my Shock and Awe campaign. ‘Cocktail under a microscope’ seemed more ‘there’ than did the ‘Jerry Garcia”. Most of the kids I went to college didn’t and probably still don’t know who Jerry Garcia was. Typical response; “you mean Cherry Garcia, the ice cream by Ben and Jerry’s?”
So I still think it would be cool not to be a total germ a phoebe, have Mexi-Melt all Hippied, camp in a VW, and go to a Grateful Dead show, even with out Jerry or Cherry Garcia. I am just glad I did not make that my life.
Now years later zipping through the streets with my dressed up wife in her car with poor baby cow hides on the seats, burning what must be rocket fuel, I realize I am not really a hippie. I still like the song. I miss my Uncle John.