Acknowledgments

This book was born of many labors. Though it bears my name as editor, without the guidance, collaboration, and friendship of Frank Barron, Greg Bogart, Nina Graboi, Michael Horowitz, Rowan Jacobsen, Marge King, Becky Leuning, Vickie Marshall, Ralph Metzner, and Rosemary Woodruff, in particular, it might have remained only a good idea. Thank you to Heather Laudadio for helping me conceive this work. A special thank you is due to the folks at Drive Savers in Novato, California, for the text of the book suffered not one, but two hard-drive crashes when it was just about complete. All seemed lost till their expert service saved the day. Thanks and love to the family and friends that surrounded Tim in his final months for welcoming me into their home, for making me feel part of the team, especially Camella, Chris, Joe, Zach, Michelle, and Carol. Let us always be friends. Thanks to my own family, especially my father, Robert Forte Sr., an arch republican, for proving that blood is thicker than ideology, and for financial support. Thank you to Jaime Nelson for her nourishing, love-filled spirit. Gratitude to my son, Mircea Alexander Forte, who, seven years old when Tim died, got right to the point when he asked, “Dad, why was Timothy so famous anyway? What did he do—free the slaves or something?” And finally, to Timothy Francis Leary, thank you for the privilege to share in your abundant and eternal life.

Res ipsa Loquitur

(let the good times roll)