X-Message-Number: 19628 From: Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 22:56:23 EDT Subject: Precedent for Sometimes Strategy? CryoNet: Jeff Davis (from yesterday) and others before, have mentioned the written note signed by Ted Williams and two of his children which expressed a desire for cryonics. A significance this may have for cryonicists will be the way the court(s) decide the case -- while admittedly, will only be one such court finding among hundreds or thousands of "competing" courts around the world. But it will be an indicator, and also a precedent to some degree: "JHW, Claudia and Dad all agree to be put into Bio-Stasis after we die. This is what we want, to be able to be together in the future, even if it is only a chance." -- 11/2/2000 I read Charles Platt's and Mike Darwin's accounts of Dr. Timothy Leary's thwarted suspension. By the way, it struck me as a very admirable effort on their part -- over many years -- and one performed with a wise and compassionate combination of persuasion and restraint. Others in Leary's life at the time, unsympathetic to either or both of cryonics and Leary, prevailed -- in spite of the fact the Leary's Legacy, and his neurotic quest for notoriety, would certainly have been served by his suspension, as he was no doubt aware. I note the following: Considering that prepaid funding donated by cryonicists was quickly confiscated and reassigned to Leary's eager-for-cash son, a lesson may exist for preparing future paperwork to help encourage such suspensions by circumventing any possible carefully-nurtured end game, guilt-based goodwill gestures for Junior(s) -- and maybe even pleadings from estranged daughters. However and/or regardless, had the Williams heirs opted to sure-up their potential courthouse position via pursuing additional family member signatures, or eliminated the courts altogether through an attempted official updating of the will, they might well have eliminated his current suspension via similar mechanics (they may have) noted in the successful and finalized (6/1996) capital case of "Cremation v. Leary." At very least these actions would certainly have jeopardized the peace in the last few years, months, or weeks, or days of William's life. So, let's see how it works. Regards, D.C. Johnson, Raleigh ____________________ PS. "Is it possible that John Henry may have been lurking about in "our" neighborhood?" -- Jeff Davis. I've wondered the same thing, Jeff. My conclusion based on the evidence?: Highly likely. PSS. "The prospect of maintaining and extending family unity is a notably more sophisticated view. This is the very first time I have seen this in print in the mass media, and is of some value to the wider promotion of cryonics." Nice observation. It reminds me to comment on the (influential) TIME Magazine cartoon recently run with a similarly wide distribution and affect, and also AOL's comments to its membership as recently cited here by one of their more noteworthy longtime members found at PSSS. With all the talk about a baseball hero, I finally decided to research the "family tree hero" today -- whom I've heard whispers about maybe once or twice a decade for the last 40 years; and whom I remember as being super nice, and having had a huge trophy Moose head mounted in his attic which was otherwise filled with all kinds of old baseball paraphernalia and stuff, when we visited him and my Great Aunt in Atlanta several decades ago. Check out #9 on the following list at the following URL. http://www.s-t.com/daily/06-99/06-27-99/d01sp108.htm Of course, now I understand why the whispering; and, yes, I probably shouldn't have done the research -- Even denied the distinction of being "the most forgettable" player ever. Man, now THAT'S what I call "Cold!" Real Cold. But I don't care what they say, I still remember him...! : ) Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19628