Many lives changed on August 9, 1995. With the death of Jerome Garcia, millions of lives were suddenly forced into their next phase. Post-Jerry. To a non-deadhead it is hard to describe how definitive this demarcation became. For those of us who were newer to the scene, it was an abrupt alteration to the ever-swirling thought, 'How soon before I can get to another show?'. Many had stopped going long ago, as the scene had deteriorated from the halcyon days of the mid 80s or the early 70s or maybe 1968. A lucky few held on for the full thirty-year ride. Plenty of people ducked in, ducked out and back again. Many of us were just getting on the bus. Others had made their livings in those free-wheeling parking lots for many years. As much as the Grateful Dead were a collective effort, without Garcia it is hard to imagine any other source with the gravitational pull necessary to galvanize (Not lead. Never lead!) a group of misfits to fully dedicate themselves to playing music for a living. Their music. Committed to staying the course and working out how to... make more music. And to keep doing it wherever that might lead, with whoever might listen. Jerry Garcia would often reply to the question, 'How would you like to be remembered?' with an answer of 'As a competent musician'. This was really his answer. He was in not one, but two bands that could sell out nearly any venue in the country. It's easy to think this was an 'aw, shucks' answer, but it was not. It was his goal in life. He set out to do it and continued to pursue it into his 53rd year, long after obtaining critical and commercial success (neither of which he seemed all that concerned). Yet, when we think of Jerry Garcia, 'musician' is woefully inadequate. 'Artist' is insufficient. Garcia's appeal, aside from his music, comes from his acceptance that life is complex and full of tradeoffs. It comes through in his interviews as well as the music. His spacious, meticulous guitar playing is one thing. But his ability to sincerely deliver lyrics that so delicately convey the human condition - in just a few verses - is unmatched. The tenderness he could deliver to fifty-thousand people may not ever be replicated. It's nice to have this annual celebration for the flash of a life that was Jerry Garcia. A family member to so many of us who never met him. At best, many of us only shared a venue with him. Some weren't born until years after he was gone. Yet here we are, several generations reflecting on his life and art. For us deadheads, August 9th is a complex day. A day of mourning, celebration, reflection, and hopefully of renewal. If there's one thing Garcia would want from all of us, it's to keep working and keep improving on that fun thing that makes us happy. Screw the haters. So, tonight we should celebrate in the best way we know how, because tomorrow is the first day of 32 AG. Time to get to work! Thank you, Jerry. Last word to Garcia: "To me, that's the key thing, the pursuit of happiness. That's the basic, ultimate freedom." -Jerry Garcia, 1987 "I think that it's a good thing to have some one thing that you can work on, on a more or less a daily basis, and be able to see improvement in your own terms that is a result only of your own energy being put into the thing. ... anything that you decided to do, if you did it every day and it was something that you could notice yourself improving ... whatever it was ... the more you do them the better you get at them ... that idea I think is really a nice idea to have in your life." - Jerry Garcia, 1976