X-Message-Number: 6175
Date: Fri, 10 May 96 16:20:18
From: Steve Bridge <>
Subject: Steve Bridge on Timothy Leary
To CryoNet
>From Steve Bridge, President
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
May 10, 1996
OK, it looks like my turn to say a few things on the Leary situation.
I prefer to stay out of the flaming, since it could easily look like a
pack of wild dogs fighting over remains. But something from Alcor needs
to be on the record.
First, a reminder that, while David Cosenza is a suspension member of
Alcor, he is not an Alcor employee or Director and does not represent
Alcor. This reminder is not directed toward David, who has not claimed
such a position, but to other CryoNet posters who often seem to reply to
David as if he has. David is an independent (very!) individual, not an
Alcor secret agent.
On to Timothy Leary himself. I have met with Tim several times over
the years and have enjoyed his company. He is a bright, witty man who
lives to do the unexpected and to challenge authority and the status quo.
However, I never had the feeling that he was a *cryonicist.* Personally,
I believe that cryonics for him was a way to tweak the establishment, to
say, "Here's another fun crazy thing we can do that goes against the norm,
and we should all do those fun, crazy things."
This feeling goes back to 1986 when I first met Tim. He signed up
for cryonics with Alcor because several of his friends asked him to and
told him it wouldn't cost him too much, and because he couldn't see any
reason NOT to sign up. I've never heard anyone suggest that Tim sought
out cryonics on his own or took independent steps to move along his
suspension sign-up progress.
So when Brian Wowk comments that Tim, when faced with the reality of
the work and unpleasantness involved in doing a suspension in order to
save lives, found cryonics not to be "sufficiently fun," that strikes a
chord of truth for me.
I do not suggest that this attitude, if true, is a reason to avoid
suspending a *member*. It is not; this is merely an explanation of why
Tim Leary might not have been motivated enough to remain a cryonicist when
the situation became more difficult.
Did CryoCare and BioPreservation make mistakes in working with Tim
Leary? Almost certainly.
Would Alcor have done better? Totally unknown. Alcor might well
have made some better decisions and different mistakes; but if Tim (and
the influential people around him) were not really interested in avoiding
death and extending life, the result might have been the same. Perhaps,
in hindsight, it would have been better for Tim if he had not been
persuaded to leave Alcor and join CryoCare; we'll probably never know. It
sure sounds like it would have been better for *CryoCare.* We reap what
we sow.
I have seen no evidence that Mike Darwin or CryoCare people did not
*care* about Tim Leary and his suspension. Mike and others spent a lot of
time and personal funds to provide medical care for Tim over the past
several months. When this situation began to go sour for CryoCare a few
days ago, Charles and Mike spoke with me about it and urged Alcor to
discuss taking over Leary's case if he wished to switch or if Tim's
actions (especially the change of beneficiary on his life insurance)
forced CryoCare to cancel his membership. They did care about giving Tim
the opportunity to be frozen or they wouldn't have called at all. I
appreciate that they called us and gave us the opportunity to check into
the situation. (Admittedly, I would have appreciated it a lot MORE if
other CryoCare members [not Mike and Charles, as far as I can tell] had
not persuaded Tim to switch at all last year.)
The problem is more likely to be that Biopreservation and CryoCare
cared about *different things* than Tim Leary did. Their goals were
different than Tim's, and not understanding that may be CryoCare's biggest
fault in this situation.
Alcor's position is: *just as we would with anyone else*, if Timothy
Leary asks to join Alcor again, we will follow our basic principles:
1. Tim must make his own decision and tell us he wants to be frozen.
2. We must be confident that he is capable of making an informed
decision.
3. We must be confident that suspension funding is in place and secured.
4. He must sign Alcor's Suspension Agreement and other forms for legal
protection.
5. We must be confident that such a suspension will not endanger the
other Alcor patients or the security of Alcor as a whole.
In any case, it is up to Tim as an individual. I'm sure we all
believe in his right to chose his own direction in life ... or in death.
Stephen Bridge, President ()
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Non-profit cryonic suspension services since 1972.
7895 E. Acoma Dr., Suite 110, Scottsdale AZ 85260-6916
Phone (602) 922-9013 (800) 367-2228 FAX (602) 922-9027
for general requests
http://www.alcor.org
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