Help Improve Harry’s Quality of Life

It is a sad state of affairs when watching a dear friend’s health deteriorate to the point that it greatly impacts his quality of life. Such is the case with my friend of 60 years, Harry Popick. 

Many Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead fans will remember Harry as he worked with the band for 20 years as their On Stage Monitor Engineer (M.E.). If you looked at the stage during any concert, it was always Harry at the sound board working to ensure that the band experienced the best quality sound possible. Harry was instrumental in conceptualizing the idea of the “Tour Ticket”, where serious fans could essentially buy a ticket to each of the band’s tours.

 

Those who interacted with him knew him as a kind, amiable and generous person. With a quick wit and a constant smile Harry was and still is loved by many fans. He has always reached out and lent a helping hand to those less fortunate than him. Frequently, Harry would walk outside to the ticket line and randomly give out free tickets to unsuspecting and very “grateful” fans. His close friends also got the benefit of his generosity by receiving back stage passes where we could party, share in the food and enjoy the concerts up close. Good times were had by all.

 

When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, Harry left the band and used his Union membership to get various employment opportunities that would carry him for many years into the future. Unfortunately, while working and enjoying the Union jobs, Harry suffered a stroke. After 9 months of difficult physical therapy he was fortunately able to resume work, though he is still plagued with chronic muscle contraction issues in his right hand.

 

Unfortunately, around 2010 Harry had to leave his friends and family in California and move to Florida for the next 5 years to help his family deal with his brother’s health issues. During that time bad luck struck again when Harry was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo surgery. While recovering he still continued to assist with his brother’s care giving. After a lengthy illness, his brother eventually passed away forcing Harry to move out and find economical housing. Now living on a fixed income he moved into a small, single wide trailer with a friend.

 

During that time Harry started experiencing pain in his hip necessitating a hip replacement operation and painful physical therapy. The end result left Harry with a permanent disability resulting in difficulty walking. Soon after, the Pandemic struck exacerbating Harry’s problems by forcing him to spend most of his time in his small living quarters. To make matters worse his friend decided to move out, which dramatically impacted Harry’s financial burden even further by doubling his cost of rent and utilities. He had to sell his car and start using public transportation in order to make ends meet. By then the thought of ever being able to move back to the west coast became a dim prospect.

 

Recently he has been diagnosed with Hypertension (chronic high blood pressure) as well as debilitating Sciatica. Simple tasks such as walking, bending or sitting for any length of time have become arduous endeavors. Though struggling with all his health setbacks and balancing his financial burdens, Harry has remained a devoted father and to the best of his ability, given his small fixed income, every month he still has financially assisted his daughter who is ill in Northern California.

I am posting this in an effort to reach out to the thousands of Grateful Dead fans who knew Harry directly or indirectly and to anyone sympathetic to the hardship Harry is having to endure. I hope all of you can find it in your heart to contribute to the fund in an effort to raise enough money for this wonderful, compassionate and generous man. We all want him to be able to improve his quality of life. He deserves a chance to live out his dream of moving to Southern Oregon and spend his remaining years in comfortable, affordable housing, have a reliable car, be closer to his daughter and also have his close friends nearby to assist him when it’s necessary.

Please share this with as many people as possible and thank you in advance for your contributions, they are all greatly appreciated.