Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A former resident of Daheim




Yes, 47 years ago my old house in Millbrook was occupied by none other than the notorious Dr. Tiomothy Leary. I am amazed by the fact that most fully grown adults - at least those under the age of, say, 27 - have never heard of him. Many of us back then were certain he was changing the world. A lot we knew! But wasn't he a handsome young man. He never gave up, which speaks at least to a firm character. Contrary to rumor, Leary's brain was not sent into space upon his death (videotaped in 1996, if I recall the date correctly). Instead, 9 grams of post cremation ashes were put aboard a rocket and set into orbit for a few years. Inevitably, earth's gravitation pulled the capsule back into the atmosphere, where it was incinerated before reaching the surface. Somewhere in this story is a metaphor for life in a larger sense, but I can't quite get my hands around it.

4 comments:

  1. Whoa! I've been fascinated by Daheim ever since reading about it in Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain's excellent "Acid Dreams." So you can bet I was excited to find this blog-- you've got some great photos posted, and I look forward to reading & seeing more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John,
    Another peek at your blog discovered this gem about the former Hitchcock estate. Im old enought to recall those days shortly after Dr.Leary's exile to the farm. Rumor had it the Beatles made a visit although I beliee it was nothing more than a rumor. My brother had the luck of visiting and oing through some of the structure ( bowling alley) shortly after Learys departure. There were many phyidellic modifcations to the walls that were left in his wake according to my brother. How long have you been there? Thanks for your blog. Its enjoyable. Dante

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ps sorry for the typos, the ipad vertual keypad is difficult.

    Dante

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting blog, it would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you
    Epoxies for Granite

    ReplyDelete