Bill Walton was my cosmic kindred spirit.

The incredible life of this legendary NBA Champion, award-winning unorthodox sports announcer, nature lover, activist and most-famous-of-all Deadheads inexplicably intersected with that of a girl out of Northern Idaho because of four things: sports, music, the outdoors, and broadcasting.

I was a Bill Walton fan long before I became a Deadhead. I grew up in a music-loving, sports/outdoors-oriented family living in Northern Idaho. The only televised regional college sports was what was then called the Pac-8.  We loved watching Big Red dominate college hoops at UCLA before moving onto the Blazers – which became my favorite NBA team. No matter where Bill went, we were fans. We saved those SI issues featuring Bill on the front, and worried that the “cover curse” was at least partly to blame for his ever-present injuries.

At 18 I went to college in my hometown and majored in journalism and broadcasting – earning money by DJ-ing at the tiny public radio/TV station at the University of Idaho, and participating in their first-ever live televised sports coverage of the University of Idaho Vandals’ football AND basketball seasons. Sports, music and broadcasting.  I was in heaven.

By the time Bill had retired from basketball – I was fully immersed in my career, having moved to Portland as a television news producer where I stayed for 7 years.  Now comes the Dead portion of my tale.  

I finally got a job in the city of my dreams, San Francisco, and moved in the Spring of 1990. One of the first people who be-friended me at work in the KGO newsroom was a fervent Deadhead, the irrepressible and kind Michael Vosse, who promptly took me to my first series of Dead shows at Shoreline and Oakland Coliseum, where I had a laminated, all-access backstage pass. However, I was FAR more star-struck by being in the presence of Bill Walton than I was with Jerry, Bobby, Billy, Mickey, Phil, Big Steve, Wavy Gravy, Dennis McNally, etc…. Needless to say, that was the beginning of identifying myself proudly as a Deadhead.

I ended my “broadcasting” career in 1995, in the days following Jerry’s death, when ABC News wanted me to do a reaction story out ofSan Francisco featuring soundbites from “all those old, dirty hippies who live in buses and tents and still follow the band around.” Peter Jennings wanted a freak show. I rebelled and gave them a thoughtful piece about Jerry’s impact on Deadheads from all walks of life – many of whom were now parents, doctors, lawyers, city leaders, non-profit founders, artists, etc…. some of them people I knew and were friends or acquaintances with. I never found out what Peter or the ABC bosses thought about the story, because I quit TV News the next day, vowing never to return to broadcasting.

In the “days between” then and now, I raised a family and tried to instill in them what I now realize are lessons from what I’ll call“The Book of Bill”: hard work, endurance, community, respect for all people, a love of nature, activism, joy, positivity, honesty, thoughtfulness, gratitude, and creativity.  He was the embodiment of all those qualities. I would see Bill at most all the Dead, Dead-adjacent or Dead & Co shows in the Bay area that I went to. And because of my love for basketball, I always thoroughly enjoyed watching games in which he provided his unique, rainbow-tinted cosmic color commentary – especially for the teams of his beloved “Conference of Champions” (so ironic that the Pac-12, in essence and spirit, “died” the day before Bill’s passing - but that’s another story).

Bill’s obvious joy while broadcasting, sharing his love of sport, music and life with all who tuned in, is partially what inspired me to seek out a community radio station in San Francisco to start my own show.  I wanted to be a positive force in the local arts community by sharing my love for music and the local arts community with anyone who tuned in.  Thus, West of Twin Peaks Radio was born.

So fare thee well, Bill, and thank you for guiding me here. If I can live life half as well as you by spreading joy and positivity, I’ll be happy.