LIFE AFTER DEAD

One could argue that the younger Deadheads are trying to be part of something that’s already passed them by, and that older Deadheads are grasping on to an era long gone, but that misses the point (“In the Wake of the Flood,” by Patrick Goldstein and Steve Hochman, Aug. 20). What Frank Zappa once said about his own music also goes for the Grateful Dead: “You either get it or you don’t.”

What Deadhead Larry Marshall obviously doesn’t get is that the do-your-own-thing ethic in evidence at a Grateful Dead concert only works when your thing doesn’t impose on the rights of others. To encourage mourning Deadheads to dance “for Jerry” the next time they are at a show with disregard to the “jerk” behind you is to also miss the point. If no one else in the audience feels compelled to spontaneously let their freak flag fly, then do us all a favor and go to the aisle or the back of the hall to dance “with your skeletons, “ or I’ll be one of the first “jerks” to ask you to sit your ass down.

RICHARD LENTI

Van Nuys

*

The music, lyrics, vibes and philosophy of the Grateful Dead did more to make me a better person than 1,000 Pearl Jam tunes or Mario Cuomo speeches ever could. “There comes a redeemer and he too slowly fades away. . . .” The loss of Jerry Garcia is a loss of a chunk of my soul.

LUCY SPACKMAN

Santa Barbara

*

My friend was a Deadhead. He followed the band from place to place and used his artistic talents to draw morbid Deadhead art. He died while sitting, stoned, in a circle with some other deadheads, playing with a loaded pistol.

As we remember Jerry Garcia’s talent and artistry, we must also remember that he used his gifts to glamorize the self-destructive lifestyle he himself was trying futilely to escape. I state with sadness, not anger or bitterness, that many of his fans preceded him to a place where they are not grateful. Neither are their survivors.

KEN BURK

Long Beach

*

Obese, drug-addicted, musically gifted, beloved by many, life cut short. A malignant scorn toward Jerry Garcia contrasts to the beatifying of Elvis. Hypocrites.

JEFF SLOMANN

Huntington Beach

*

They say Jerry Garcia died with a smile on his face. I wonder how many thousands of other people died with smiles on their faces: women and children killed in gang and cartel cross-fire; honest judges and officeholders blown apart by car bombs. The money Jerry Garcia spent on drugs helped finance these murders. Wipe that smile off your face, Jerry.

DAVID T. CHANTLER

Marina del Rey

*

The statement “Can they get a life?” on your cover was very disgraceful! What is that supposed to mean? I am not a Deadhead, but I like the Grateful Dead. Most Deadheads have jobs and families, they just enjoy a certain group and being with other fans!

JENNY RIGGI

Age 13

Hesperia

*

What a comment on our culture that the death of Jerry Garcia rates a major Calendar article while the passing of Miklos Rozsa gets nothing more than the customary obituary?

I don’t know how many people Garcia touched with his music, but could it have been more than Rozsa reached with his scores for such films as “Spellbound,” “The Lost Weekend,” “Ben-Hur” and “El Cid”?

JOHN FOREMAN

North Hollywood