X-Message-Number: 14242
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 14:42:12 -0400
From: mgdarwin <>
Subject: Interesting piece
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From: David Crippen, INTERNET:crippen+@pitt.edu
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, SaulKent
, [72320,1642]
Date: 8/3/00 7:13 PM
RE: Interesting piece
Interesting piece from Mike Darwin on Leary. My recollection:
He called me long distance one day got my partner's wife who though
it was a joke call. After she finally tracked me down it was clear
that Leary was in pain and didn't quite know what to do about it or
who to deal with. I was way down on the food chain for Leary
hangers-on and I still am not quite sure how he figured I was the one
to call. At any rate, it was a fairly easy procedure for me to get
on the horn and scare up some home hospice for him, even from
Pennsylvania. I continue to be impressed with the ease and efficiency
in which I was able to pull that off in California. That was the
last time I actually talked to him although he e-mailed me several
times in teh middle of the night joking about the 60s.
The next time I actually saw him was a few weeks before he died. I
was on my way to or from Australia, I forget which and I had a friend
in LA who actually "knew" Leary in the 60s and had several, shall we
say, transcendental experiences with him (and a lot of other
people). She is an authentic barefoot Hippie girl of the Summer of
Love and I continue to harp at her to write the great book of the
era. She is so articulate and "experienced" in the Hendrix sense. But
that's another saga.
On entering the abode, it was cleat that there were different
factions at work and play. Leary's house manager (for want of a
better term) was a VERY nice lady and I am ashamed to say I cannot
remember her name but I hear from her now and again. She clearly had
his best interest at heart and seemed to run the household, such as
it was. However, she was sort of held into that position by some
other guy I think named Graves or something like that (it's been a
long time) and this guy seemed (to me) so evil he literally glowed in
the dark. He seemed responsible for Leary's imagemongering and he
also seemed to control the parade of zombies that padded relentlessly
through the house and grounds.
Throughout the house many different species of questionably
domesticated beasts grazed freely, any one of which could have made
the cast of Dawn of the Dead. I caught the interest of one as he
passed by and, trying to keep exposed flesh covered as much as
possible announced my intention to visit Leary. I was asked to wait
to see if an audience could be arranged. Graves was hastily
consulted (in full view of me) and the word came back that Leary was
too tired to receive visitors. Well, my friend from LA wasn't having
any of that bullshit. She started sniffing around right there in
front of God and everyone and dragged me by the hand back to the
bedroom where a thin, pale and emaciated Leary lay dying. No one
noticed us wandering around and we tried to avoid attention by
drooling and bumping into walls as we proceeded. He was clearly
zonked on morphine and although he nodded in all the right places, I
don't think he remembered me. I said a few words and my friend
offered some whispers of Hippie incantations in his ear, and we left.
He was dead a week or so later.
I never heard much about what happened thereafter. I do think that
Leary's place in history had firmly been carved previous to all this
and none of it will ever make much of an afterward. I have a book in
my library.....somewhere......about Leary's final days in which I am
mentioned. Gives my kids a chuckle. I did get a manuscript of the
paper written for Wired which I am told was turned down. I would
have dearly, DEARLY loved to have gotten a shot at writing that piece
myself.
Otherwise, this was a very interesting slice of life for me and I
would not trade it for anyone else's.
.David Crippen, MD, FCCM
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Critical Care Medicine
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Director of Surgical Critical Care
St. Francis Medical Center
Pittsburgh, PA
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Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 22:14:14 -0500
From: David Crippen <crippen+@pitt.edu>
Subject: Interesting piece
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