Hunter’s Moon
My darling research assistant Brandon Wenerd sent me this email today, which should lift your spirits too. Bob Weir is quoting a sentiment of Hunter’s which is also in Hey Rube, that if every Dead Head had voted, we wouldn’t be in this mess:
Anita,
Hey there!
Tonight is the “Hunter’s Moon,” or the first full moon after the fall equinox. Back in more primitive times, the Hunter’s Moon was a time of epic harvest feasts for some Native American tribes. It is believed that, on this day, stealthy hunters, huntress, and herdsmen used the pale moonlight to track the animal footsteps in fallow fields in order to sustain the tribe for the winter. However, after covering the Grateful Dead/Allman’s concert last night here in State College on the eve of the 2008 Hunter’s Moon, I believe the lunar celebration has taken on a new meaning. After five hours of dancing to blissful blues, vintage psychedelia, and cheering for an assortment of campaign rhetoric, the 15,000-plus crowd hushed as Bob Weir took to the microphone. “I believe it was a good friend of ours, the late, great Hunter S. Thompson that said something back in 2004 that really caught our eye. Hunter said, ‘If every Deadhead in the state of Flordia would have voted on election day in 2000, we would be living in a very different world…Think about it.” The crowd roared with enthuasism before they launched into Touch of Grey, giving the chorus of “I will survive” a moment of very real clarity and perspective. When an arena full of Deadheads from all walks of life traveled from all across the country to Central Pennsylvania and raved to life at Hunter’s quote on the urgency of ‘The Grateful Dead Vote’, I realized that last night was truly a brave, new type of Hunter’s Moon celebration, complete with a profound sense of tangiable urgency to all the unabashed “freaks in the freak kingdom.”
Anyway, I thought you’d be interested in that, since it just transpired last night and was an offical Obama “campaign event.” It was a great night and a fantastic moment.
Met Ben Corbett and his amegio, “The Colonel” last night when covering the Grateful Dead reunion here in State College. What a great guy! His article for The Boulder Weekly and High Times is going to run sometime later this week. My piece will run in Voices of Central Pennsylvania’s November issue. Just wanted to pass all this on. Hope all is well.
Best,
Brandon
Yes, all is well. Brandon may not remember the message that he and Ben left on my voice mail from the rally. It sounded like they were having a GREAT time! Very sweet guys!
Anyway, all is going well for now in NY. I’m studying for midterms. I did go to American Studies Open House with several of the professors from the various departments today. My professor of United States Intellectual History class, Casey Blake, spoke fondly of the times he has taught Hunter’s Vegas, and Campaign Trail ’72.
Anyway, back to the books for now,
your friend,
Anita Thompson
