Tuesday October 10, 2006

dead and poker I just finished reading One Of A Kind a biography of Stuey Ungar by Nolan Dall and Peter Alson and and Phil Lesh's (bass player of the Grateful Dead) autobiography Searching For The Sound.

Both books were very interesting and carried related significance to me as I first became interested in gambling after visiting LV to see the Grateful Dead.

Both books were also depressing as the primary character in one and most of the characters in another were deeply effected by drugs. I think it would be easy to just say that drugs were the bogey man and that if they were somehow not available or restricted that these scenes might have played out differently. But I think in both cases the people involved, esp. Stu Ungar and Jerry Garcia, were very conflicted. I think they would have turned to other destructive behaviors in the absence of drugs. I see both books as examples of why forcing drugs into the dark corners of our world ultimately leaves us fewer options in trying to help those around us that have problems.

One of the things I found most interesting about Phil's book is the constant discussion of how the on stage relationship lagged the break down of the off stage relationship. Given the primary members of the Grateful Dead had grown up together it appeared to me that the most honest form of communcation would often continue after other avenues had broken down. Even just getting the echo of what this was like was worth the depressing and expected end of the book.

The Dalla/Alson book was also about somebody whose abilities had been formed very early in life. But in this case without a real form of communication with most of the rest of the world. Stuey Ungar's destructive gambling tendencies away from poker would drive him away from what he was best socialized to do creating an every ending spiral downward. The rest of the world was foreign and alien to him with his physically small figure just magnifying others preception of his immaturities.

A fairly depressing two book read. I guess I'll go see a good jam band this weekend and maybe play some poker :) ( Oct 10 2006, 11:05:52 PM PDT ) Permalink