Sunday, August 31, 2008

I LOVE running across posts like the following (which was found on Deadnet but taken there from another site-


...I forget what the right word(s) is for a series of events all occur precisely at the right time for something pretty cool to happen...

Yesterday we decided to celebrate August 29th by taking the afternoon off and heading to Iowa City…after a week of discussion about where to eat we still hadn’t decided as we approached town...but at the very last moment chose the HuHot Mongolian Grill ...my wife goes to the ladies room and as I'm eating this group of 3 guys come in and head for a table close to me…there is a tall guy with short black hair, there is a stocky built fellow with long dark hair and a shorter older man with a beard and little pot gut walking behind the other two…I notice the tall muscular guy is wearing Grateful dead T shirt….somewhere in my mind I think the stocky guy seems familiar to me and the little guy…well...I'm not sure

I go back to eating and my wife comes back to the table all excited and she says That’s Bob Weir at the grill!! Well I look a couple times and begin to think the stocky guy sort of looks like Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog…but why would he and Bob Weir be here in Iowa City??…so as they wait for their food standing there at the grill I slowly walk up behind him and say hello Mr. Weir …he doesn’t hear me at first so I say it again…this time he turns around gives a big smile and says well hello …I tell him thank you for all you have done…he smiles again and says your welcome. Jeff and the other man smile and shake hands...

A while later as I return from the rest room here comes Jeff from the bar I talk to him about the band, the sound, Mark, Steve and a few other things…I tell him it’s my wife's birthday and would they mind a possible pix when they were done…He says no problem…he just doesn’t like it when people gather round and don’t give them any privacy….I go to get the camera and when I get back Bobby is already talking to my wife at the table smiling and having a grand time …The GD T shirt man asks me where the camera is and I show him…we decide to go outside for a better pix...Bobby still talking to the wife…so we are discussing who will take the pix and the hostess volunteers …we go outside and we group up…she shoots two…and we chat some more and then the T shirt guy hollers the taxi is here so they have to run ...but I snap one more of Bobby and Jeff as they head off waving and Bobby still chatting with my wife and me about Iowa and other stuff...

...when we go back into the restaurant the place is abuzz …the hostess was so happy for us but when asked have you ever heard of the Grateful Dead ..she says No!! but still understands we were excited…the young couple at the next table to us are intrigued and we tell them what's up and they seem more impressed...the waiter comes back and we talk…he says he just told the manager (who knows the GD) what had happened and the manager was pissed he missed the whole thing…we talk music for a while…the entire restaurant seems happy for the event…we leave on a high…a really neat event to happen so spontaneously..if someone had told me that morning I'd happen to run into Bob Weir and Jeff Chimenti in an out of the way Iowa City resturant I wouldn't have believed it...

....wasn't til a bit later I connected the dots that RD was in transit from Chicago to Red Rocks ...some took planes ...but to our surprise and amazement Bobby and Jeff took a different route

...I don't know who the taller man was I think he said his name was Mike...he too was very friendly and by his actions I assume he was a roadie of sorts...

...the whole thing certainly made our day