Thursday, September 3, 2009

Black Muddy River

Part of growing old is losing friends. I found out today that an old acquaintance suffered a heart attack on Sunday and they took her off life support yesterday. I think Bev was about 58.

I got to know her and her husband Joe through one of my high school teachers who became a life long friend the night I graduated high school. Tony, Joe, Bev and I shared a love of the Grateful Dead. Joe had actually promoted some Dead shows back in the early 70's in Iowa City. Some of the best moments of my life were spent in their company.

I could write an entire blog just on Joe's antics alone and I will at some later date. Bev was just a lot of fun to be around. I can remember sharing an Ecstacy tab with her at a Bob Dylan show in Lake Geneva. The next two nights we saw the Dead. That weekend Bev coined the term "Find the feeling," because she thought my companion and I on that particular trip were having sex at every opportunity.

My favorite Joe and Bev story involved a late winter trip to Chicago which I was not a part of. They had driven in Bev's red Volvo from Iowa City to the concert and were making the return trip on a bitterly cold night when they pulled into a rest stop for use the facilities. About an hour or so after the pit stop Bev who was behind the wheel realized that someone was missing. It seemed they had departed the rest area without Joe. They turned around and found Joe hanging hiding out in the restroom using the electric hand dryers to keep himself from freezing to death. I'm sure the copious quantities of alcohol, pot, and god knows what else had contributed to the situation.

Anyway, thanks for all the good memories Bev. Tony sent this along to me today and I'm sure if she saw this, it would have brought a smile to her face.

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