"Mama always said that dying was a part of life...but I sure wish it wasn't."

-- Forrest Gump

My journey as a fan of the Grateful Dead is -- from my perspective -- and interesting one in that I went from the tiny handful of FM-radio hits to Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of the Grateful Dead, and I didn't love it. At all, really.

Some time later everything changed.

I wasn't certain about the lineup and why the vocals sometimes didn't sound like Jerry Garcia's voice, but I eventually figured it out, and -- in typical fashion for myself -- I fell in love with Garcia's playing, Garcia's voice, and the sometimes-lovely keyboard playing. And that was kind of it.

It took me until the formation of Dead and Company to form my admiration and respect of -- plus love for -- Bobby Weir. Seeing the occasional photo of him in Birkenstocks (and ultimately barefoot) on his on-stage rug in addition to the occasional Instagram post of him in yoga poses, etc. really solidified my belief that this was a truly special human being.

I struggle with a number of things, and among them is the constant need for the reminder that social media isn't real life. So, when Bobby's passing was shared with the world, I bristled at verbiage in posts that started with phrases like, "I'm devastated."

At the same time, I also kind of understood.

Bob Weir -- from my vantage point -- was in incredible human, and we are so, so lucky that we shared living moments with him.

I say all of that to say this: Nicolette Paige joined me for Episode No. 197 and even though I didn't know her prior to her ringing my doorbell (and scarcely know her now), she seems like a delightful person. She -- I think -- is all about energy and love and positivity, and we could use a few more Nicolettes on this planet right now.

Mrs. Paige and I talked about family, growing up with incredibly supportive parents, putting on shows, seeing clients, peddling products, managing screen time, as well as a few of her favorite albums, which were these:

Bob Marley's Exodus (1977)

Bruised Orange (1978), John Prine

Jimi Hendrix's The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000)

Mama's Gun (2000), Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu's New Amerykah, Part I (4th World War) (2008)

Follow her at @nicolettepaigemusic on Instagram. Check out her Web site, soulchildawakenings.com, and -- if you're so inclined -- you can follow Soul Child Awakenings on the socials we know as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. She's also got two albums -- self-titled + The Other Side -- available via the streaming platforms.

A big thank you to Nicolette for the time and the vibes. A super-big thank you to you for supporting the podcast, and a massive thank you to Bob Weir, for being an absolute treasure.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips featured in this episode. They are snippets taken from the leadoff track of Bob Weir's 2016 record, Blue Mountain. It's a fantastic album, and I encourage you to check it out in its entirety. We have it available to us today c/o TRI Studios LLC, which is distributed under license by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.