On August 18, 1979, counterculture icon and psychedelics advocate Dr. Timothy Leary gave a fascinating illustrated lecture at La Paloma Theatre. He introduced his “Global Runway” theory to illustrate how humans are destined to emigrate and populate other planets. The illustration projected on La Paloma’s screen showed the planet Earth circled by an arrow, starting at the cradle if humanity, Africa, and ending on the California coast in the present day, where it curved up into the stratosphere.
As the era of drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll unfolded, it seemed that Leary was at every scene, alongside a strange cast of famous characters. He took psilocybin trips with Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and others. He was arrested by G. Gordon Liddy. He sang “Give Peace a Chance” with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. As a fugitive on drug charges, he lived in Algeria with Eldridge Cleaver and dined in Switzerland, with Roman Polanski. Back at Folsom Prison in California, he was a jailmate of Charles Manson.
Leary actually completed the Global Runway circle after his 1996 death from prostate cancer – a vial of his ashes was shot into space along with 23 others, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The rocket remained in orbit for six years until it burned up in the atmosphere.