I’ve been in places of transcendental beauty

One
Robert Hunter wrote the words to Ripple and Jerry Garcia sang them. The Grateful Dead played and I guess Jerry is the only public figure whose presence I really do miss. I mean, you know, JFK & MLK & RFK did me in and whether people know it or not their killings did in part of the soul of this nation … soul sickness. I started writing about a song & transcendental beauty and look where I got to. Songs like Ripple, Brokedown Palace, Morning Dew and others were the songs of a new dawn for me and I'm grateful to the Dead and others like the Incredible String Band ("We were trying to do something genuinely wonderful ...") and the Beatles for being responsible to so many people.

There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night.
And if you go, no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone. (from Ripple)

Anyway, along the road (no simple highway), I’ve been in Places of Transcendental Beauty

• Sitting by the Mekong running deep and strong through the hills of Luang Prabang
• In a mind that sees others, truly, truly
• In my Grandmother’s garden in the golden light of a dreaming vision
• My beautiful wife, ____
• Looking up at the desert sky in the deep night – a million stars shining like the First Night
• Baby David, asleep, safe
• In the kitchen with Jeff on Oram street, the walls yellow, off center, the warmest place in the world, it seemed
• Waking up in a redwood forest looking up at the ancient trees and a bluebird flashing across the vision
• My generation, from Vietnam to dancing free in forests and meadows
• Visions: God; we really are all One
• Leaving Vietnam in 1967 and returning in 2005
• Walking with David behind deserted temples in Angkor
• Seeing the strength of Cambodian refugees back in the bad old days of 1981-86
• Countless 1000s of babies; old people writing new love and strength stories; I mean I get off sitting in North Park and watching it all flow past
• Shwedagon; Burma (the people)
• The Wind River Mountains