The Dead Will Rise Again.

Don't worry. This isn't some dire warning about flesh-eating zombies. We defeated them in November, remember?

It's just that the Grateful Dead are going to be touring this spring. They haven't toured for four years, and that's one of many reasons the last four years were a dark, dark time in America. When the Dead are touring, I always suspect the world is more wonderful than we usually realize.

Yeah, it's not the same band we remember. Jerry is missed, and things will never be quite the same. Ticket prices are through the roof and I doubt that many can afford to tour the way some of us used to. Remember calling the hotline and getting the instructions about the number ten envelopes and the index cards and filling in your ticket order just so, so it wouldn't be rejected by the ticket gods, also known as the office workers in San Rafael?

Why is it that every time the Dead tour these days, a very sappy song that isn't theirs comes to mind? "Memories, like the corners of my mind. Misty water-color memories of the way we were." Maybe I'd just better say it's been a long strange trip.

So yeah, the ticket prices are too high, but remember: it's an investment in your insanity.