Andrew McCredie Editor andrew@nsnews.com IT is said of those about to meet their ’ maker that a sweet sound calls to them just before thar final cur- tain. Our fora hike on their favorite North Shore. teaii. last week, Jack and Louise Straw thought their end was neéar when they rounded a switch: back in dense woods and heard’ a haunting, surreal ‘sound from up the trail. “Pm not a religious per- son.” Jack, 33, said. “But when I heard that high-string mandolin V looked up to the sky and: started saying my prayers.” ‘The soaring music stopped as suddenly as. it started. The Straws waited a few minutes - then”. began: to slowly inch , their'way up the muddy trail. They*. froze. when “glimpsed a "gure snoozing soundly against a giant cedar free: . “Ac first we though 3 was Carl Reiner.” Louise. said. _> “But as we crept closer we “could tell it was Jerry Garcia.” Or ‘at least. someone who looked: just like the leader of the Grateful Dead, who diced in‘ the ‘summer of 1995. Bur the resemblance: was striking: “t?’d never scen the Dead, bet ~.-Psure knew what Jerry looked . like,” Jack said. : On closer inspection, the ‘couple ‘noticed a half. caten chili. dog and a Kokanee tall boy: in. a ‘clear plastic bag by. the sleeping lookalikes’. side. There ;was, however, no sign ofithe. instrument. the couple. ‘= had heard ‘minutes earlier. ‘He was‘our pretty good, they Wednesday, April 1. 1998 — North Shore News — 21 ‘Photo Sir C pen Tickle LOCAL. wildlife officials will neither deny nor confirm receiving information about a Jerry Garcia-tribe tiving in the North Shore woods, but for one North Van couple that rumor became a reality during a recent hike. so we continued up the trail; that’s when we came across the group,” Jack reported. Coming upon a clearing, the Straws knelt in some tall Brass on the edge and wan hed in amazement as a dozen or so Garcia look-alikes lounged on logs and rocks, strumnting instruments and giggling to themselves. On the other side of the clearing, another group of - Garcia-acolytes worked milkshake blenders. “Time just slipped away,” Louise recalled. “Everything smelled and sounded so awe- “some.” ; “A few minutes (hours?) ad to receive: -|Electrolysis | Get tothe rove of unwanied hait permanent FREE 8mm coratation _ Yasmin FREE § sun treatment (needle nee inckaded) - ESTHETICS & HAIRSSs Cher E £; C. 3 Natali with ober seis Espine Apeil $086 1331: Marine De. West Vancouver» 922-1225 later, the Straws decided it was time to get down the trail, and silently crept, then ran, back down to their cae. During the ride home they agreed nat to tell anybody about what they had witnessed. “We've become a part of this community and we just thought we'd be making trou- ble for ourselves if we started telling people about the whole deal,” Louise, a 29-year-old aerobics instructor, said. The following morning, however, Jack’s curiosity got the better of him and he fired up his computer and surfed the Net in search of similar ite sightings. What he found astounded him. “IT thought 2 was pretty tuned into things like this, but brother, | had no idea,” be said. Few do. Unreported in the izin- stream media for years, the “celebrity tribe” phenomenon appears to he spreading as the new millennium approaches. And now it seems to be on our doorstep. The violent Cobain-teibe uprising in the Northern Cascades last summer hardly arto, JOIN US FO ‘and = celebrity-tribe registered a mention, even in the alternative media. “The media has adopted the same principle it applies to suicides when considering reporting on these celebrity- tribe groups,” media watch- dog Alan Lana said. “There’s a real feeling among editors that reporting on these tribes would just spur more people to get involved,” According to sociologist expert Rezag Levan, the violent our- burst of the recent Cobain- tribe incident is a rarity, “Apart from the infamous Bonham-tribe/Moon-tribe Dead celebrity sighting on the N. Shore riot in Northern. Wales in 1982, there’s been no reports of violent behavior associated with these groups,” Levan said from his trailer park home outside Reno, Nevada. Told of the possibility of a Garcia-tribe in the North Shore woods, he said “Jerry, ch? That's a new one on me. Fm no Deadhead, but from what I know of them all you won't have’ much to’ worry about. Garcia was a pretty docite, peaceful guy.” Levan said his findings suggest that the celebrity's appearance is not the only thing these groups attempt to mirror: “Their behavior and lifestyle will also reflect that of their chosen celebrin.” eee After Jack Srraw's internet discovery that he and his wife were not going crazy +- they had seen pwo dozen Garcias hanging out in the woods — the couple decided to report the incident to North Shore wildlife officials. . Contacted Monday morn- ing, a wildlife: officer would neither confirm nor deny that the Straws had filed a report. “We get all kinds of nutty - sightings,” the” officer, on condition of anonymity, ‘said. “If we thought it was some- thing that would concern the public we'd ler you know.” The Straws say the encounter with the Garcia- tribe won't keep them from hiking the local trails. “We moved here from Wichita, Kansas five years ago because of the beautiful North Shore woods and mountains,”, Jack said. : “It’s going to take a little more than a bunch of Jerry Garcia-lookalikes : to keep. us | . from them.” WEST COAST AMUSEMENTS. Py aif ui CAPILANO. CLIP THESE COUPONS FOR DISCOUNTS ON RIDE pocc--- This coupon good for 6 RIDES FOR This coupon 7 for This coupon ggod for . 6 RIDES FOR $10.00 ssa $10.00 +GST. 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