If Weir could have somehow gotten Garcia into biking The J-Man would probably still be with us. A lotta folk think it was the junk that killed him, but from everything I've read it was the cigarettes, lousy diet, and lack of exercise that really did him in. DM II and a heart attack will do that to you. Of course he made his own choices as everyone has a right to, but I sure wish he'd opted for life instead of death by neglect.
In a variety of ways the Dead have been an intimate part of my subconscious ever since I was first turned on to them 40-some years ago, and they have a meaning for me that few other cultural artifacts do. Dead shows, and Jerry band shows in particular, were intimate and communal in the best way, and I cherish the memories of all the shows I saw.