Today the number 9 officially became my favorite number. Let me explain…

On July 9, 1995, I experienced something that forever changed my life—I saw the Grateful Dead in Chicago at Soldier Field.

I sat in seat number 9. That experience can never be fully explained on paper. It was something only explained by the cosmos.

One month later, on Aug. 9, 1995, something that was just given to me was taken away forever… Jerry Garcia.

It didn’t hit me right away, but with time I realized how big of a gift was taken from me and the rest of the family. I had mixed emotions about the whole bit. On one hand, I was glad I had been able to share in the experience with so many people and that the Dead had made so many people happy and truly free for the past 30 years. But on the other hand, I was angry that Jerry had continued to hurt himself to the point of death. I guess we all have our demons.

During my spring break in Florida, I decided to say my final goodbyes to Jerry. I wrote him a letter while sitting on the beach watching the sun set over the Gulf horizon. In the letter I thanked him and let him know how much I loved and missed him. I took the letter, put it in a bottle, and tossed it far into the Gulf of Mexico. I really hoped he would somehow get the letter.

As I read the article about Jerry’s ashes being spread along the Ganges River, I knew he would be receiving his letter very soon. I can’t explain how much joy I felt when I realized this. It was truly an earth moving moment in time for me.

Why am I writing this to all of you? Because every one of you needs to hear stories like this each day. We as humans don’t share enough with each other anymore. We rely on the TV or the Internet to share feelings and ideas with one another. That doesn’t cut it. We need the touch and verbal contact of others.

Please, as a favor to me, go out today and find someone who needs a spark in their life and tell them a story. They’ll thank you for it and so will Jerry. For those of you who miss Jerry, go ahead and send him a letter c/o The Waterways of the World. Don’t worry, he’ll get it.

Chris Jagger

Senior

Earth Science