REMEMBERING BOB WEIR
“ THE NIGHT HAS BEEN UNRULY,” SHAKESPEARE WROTE.“ WHERE WE LAY, OUR CHIMNEYS WERE BLOWN DOWN.” IN AN EERIE ECHOING, JAMES DIED, AND IN THAT MOMENT, HIS MUCH- LOVED GUITAR INEXPLICABLY FELL FROM ITS STAND.
sealed, yet she knew. And armed with this vital information, Phyllis would keep track of young Bobby and follow his budding career— but at a distance; she faithfully abided by her agreement to not contact the family while they were living.
The door would open, though, in 1972 when Bobby’ s adoptive parents passed away. They died within a month of each other— and on each other’ s birthdays— prompting Bobby to initiate a search for his biological parents. His efforts, though, would be thwarted as he continually ran into dead ends. Whoever they were, they had covered their tracks well; even the mother’ s name on his birth certificate proved to be fictitious.
It would be ten years before Phyllis would muster the courage to contact her son, proving her identity by confirming the name on the birth certificate. Bobby was satisfied and agreed to a meeting. During the course of their initial encounter, Phyllis explained the difficult circumstances of Bobby’ s birth, the desperately painful decisions she was forced to make, and told of the bumpy path her life had taken upon her return to Tucson and her eventual return to the Bay Area. But more importantly, she told him the name of his father.
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Will you call me back in a few minutes?” the Colonel asked.“ It’ s not every day you get a call like this.”
Bobby had gathered just enough courage and conviction to make the call. And now he wasn’ t sure whether his mission had simply been momentarily interrupted or aborted altogether. He wondered if he could do it again. Of course he would. He’ d opened Pandora’ s Box and there was no turning back. Moments later, he was on the phone again, resuming the thorny conversation.
“ The only Robert Weir I know of,” asserted the Colonel,“ plays guitar with the Grateful Dead.”
“ Well, sir,” Bobby answered,“ that would be me.”
After another long silence, the sparring defused and the two would continue to talk, cautiously feeling each other out, and filling in the gaps in their respective histories. When they decided to meet over lunch the next day, the Colonel would be astonished at their physical similarities and shared mannerisms. Bobby was likewise impressed, later agreeing that there would be no need for a DNA test.
108 | SPRING 2026