Come to find out, “The Day of the Dead” is not just a day, but rather three days, always starting on Halloween.  All Holidays should be scheduled like this to assure that at least one day falls on a Friday or weekend.  Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday to honor the deceased.  It’s also referred to as Dia de los Angelitos “Day of the Little Angels” or Dia de los inocentes “Day of the Innocents,” just in case you’re a bit squeamish about dead people.  It is not really considered a Holiday, but instead a day where death is reclaimed.  It is also not considered the Mexican version of Halloween.  The theme of course is death, but the idea is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members through colorful pageantry and offerings.

As a 66 year old, I’ve certainly seen my share of death, although probably less than most people my age.  I’ve lost four grandparents, some distant relatives, both adopted parents, a step-father, two former bosses, several co-workers, an unborn child, and many classmates.  I’ve witnessed the tragic losses from Vietnam, 9/11, Afghanistan, Las Vegas, earthquakes, airline crashes, bombings, major storms, and assassinations.  Every death is a great loss and I sympathize with those left behind.  Life, in general, has been very good for me, and I’m thankful.

I’m not a religious man, and have always tried to never judge the beliefs of others.  In some of the recent books I’ve read, including Origin and A Column of Fire, their authors show religion to be very divisive and inflexible.  In reality, religious beliefs are a product of one’s upbringing.  In my case, I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and attended services on Sunday.  I adopted the Ten Commandments as my moral standards, but remain unconvinced that a God of any kind is monitoring my actions and will determine my ultimate fate.  I’m disturbed by zealots, who are bigoted, all-knowing, and carry an air of superiority through what they were taught to believe.  I’m also uncomfortable with the concept of Heaven and Hell, and who goes where?  I feel that many of my contemporaries have led much more challenging lives than I have here on Earth, and even this seems grossly unfair.   I could go on but I won’t.

I am a Dead fan – the Grateful Dead, of course.  I’ve even owned Jerry Garcia ties and cuff-links, and displayed the band’s Red Rose sticker on the front door of my college apartment.  I can’t say that I’m a “Dead Head,” but I’ve been to my share of concerts through the years and have certainly bought and enjoyed their music.  I also went to see Dead and Company featuring John Mayer when their tour passed through Portland last July.  Unfortunately, I’ve also had some bad experiences at Dead concerts, sitting next to disruptive, twirling fans, dodging beer and vomit, and being overwhelmed by smoke.  Dead concerts were the first place that I learned that your seat is only as good as who’s sitting next to you.  (See Post #121).  This was certainly the case at Dead and Company, and we ended up moving to another location to avoid the flying elbows of the hallucinating fan “dancing” next to us.

Skulls and skeletons are not my thing, unless they are collecting candy.  I did however enjoy touring the Paris catacombs and the Church of the Bones in Rome.  Celebrating he “Day of the Dead,” however, is not on my bucket list, but I would go see John Mayer again.  I would love to hear him perform his version of “Route 66.”