tigerstrat wrote:Scott Bardolf wrote:If you want "dirt" on Jerry, read Parishes book! I thought he did a real injustice to his friendship with Jerry, like talking about the time Jerry offered heroin to Steve after his wife and kids were killed, etc. Scully's book had me laughing while Parishes book made me cringe.
But you READ it!! For shame. 
So here's the quote in question from Parishs' book
Speaking of who came to pay their respects
"Everyone from the band came too- everyone except for Jerry, who was too disturbed and shaken by the incident to come by in person. He could be that way: socially awkward to the point of embarrassment."
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He then spoke of how he'd insisted that the shows in the coming days not be canceled as was suggested and spoke of the ways in which he received support from so many in the family and then..
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"And then there was Jerry...
That first night, when I got to the show, Jerry approached me backstage and gave me a hug. He seemed so sad, so moved by my loss. And then, in a twisted but genuinely loving gesture, he did something that astounded me.
'Hey man,' he said, his eyes brimming with tears. 'You want some heroin? It'll kill the pain.'
I thanked him but declined the offer. 'If I did anything right now - one snort, one drink - I'd never stop.'
He nodded and told me again how sorry he was. In that instant I felt more pity for Jerry than I did for myself, because he really was trying to help. He just didn't know any other way."
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I really don't think this is that bad given the context. It's not like he said "Can you believe this friggin junkie offered me smack?" He carefully constructed it to be respectful toward him, and yet give a glimpse into the disfunction that was Jerry while being dominated by his addiction.
Now if one feels it just shouldn't be talked about period then fine - no one should right anything at all discussing Jerry's drug use. Period. There is no middle ground because one would have to arbitrarily draw a line: what can be discussed and what can't, and then you into a subjective minefield. If you're going to delve into what made Jerry tick, including drug use, you best be careful that what is left out doesn't do a diservice to the picture you're painting. If you do, then you're just full of shit and grabbin at the cash.
Frankly it doesn't surprise me a whole lot. Jerry was simply proscribing that which evidently took care of "something (pain?)" in him for the pain Parish was experiencing. It also spoke, to a degree, to the, pardon the pun, high position smack occupied in Jerry's world at that time.
Without anything else to really compare it to, (haven't read many dead related books) I didn't really find stuff in this book that rough. It seemed to simply jive with all I've heard about them. Of course this book is just one mans opinion and at one point he even alludes to a squabble he has with something Scully has in his book from when Parish replaced Scully as road manager.
