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A Friend of the Devil Is a Friend of Mine

I never met Jerry Garcia in person, but he was one of my best friends and the inspiration for one of my favorite foods.

Cristo López, PhD
3 min readAug 13, 2020
Northfoto / Shutterstock.com
Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

Jerry Garcia, a founder of the band Grateful Dead, guitarist, songwriter, and inspiration for Ben & Jerry’s “Cherry Garcia” ice cream, died 25 years ago this week.

I saw him perform about a dozen times, and listened to thousands of hours of his music, from Grateful Dead, Old & In the Way, New Riders of the Purple Sage, to his duos with David Grisman.

The Dead provided soundtracks to the episodes of my life, like when I was down to my last dollar in a brand new city, aching for some friendship and understanding:

“Asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee
I got no dime but I got some time to hear his story” — Wharf Rat, Grateful Dead

Or after a breakup:

“Here beside him stands a man
A soldier from the looks of him
Who came through many fights
But lost at love” — Terrapin, Grateful Dead

Or when trying to figure out where to go next with my life:

“You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home”
—…

Cristo López, PhD
Cristo López, PhD

Written by Cristo López, PhD

Writing with an open heart | American living & writing full-time in Monterrey, Mexico |

Responses (4)

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I loved Garcia and the Dead! To me, it always sounded like they played with no underwear on…

25

“You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home”

Powerful words. I have heard of him and I was in NY when he died. I can't believe it's 25 years.

25

And like Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, I can never get enough.

Lovely feelings ❤️

25