Dreadlock

Friendly Memento: Sean's Dreadlocks Saga

I met Sean just before I turned 18, at a reggae festival on Boston Common. It turned out that we were meeting a mutual friend to get a ride back to Cape Cod that evening.

At that time, he had a whole head full of dreadlocks - a bit rare for an Irishman! We became firm friends, drinking buddies, and copartners in mischief. He got a lot of flack about his hair, but it didn't seem to bother him too much.

3 years later, his father told him, "Look. Get a haircut and I will take you on a trip to Costa Rica." Sean went to the barber the next day. I requested one of his "dreds" as a keepsake. It seemed unlikely he would grow them back any time soon.

The last time I saw Sean was in the summer of '95, at one of the last Grateful Dead concerts in Vermont shortly before the death of Jerry Garcia. Rumor has it he might be in California now. His family has moved, left no forwarding address. I know I will see him again. It's just a question of when.

Kate 3/24/01