So, Patty does not think that Blogger will ever restore the two posts that were lost. If they do, Patty will personally mail them a nice port wine cheeseball and some summer sausage. Maybe some Ritz crackers, too.
First item of business: Robert Hendrickson. Matt wrote on May 12th (cached version available at http://www.zimbio.com/member/eviliz/articles/P47wcpmtLiw/Question+Robert+Hendrickson+Readers):
"Robert Hendrickson has posed this question to the readers of Eviliz.com. I think it is a great one. Your input should be equally interesting:
This whole "Where are they now"? theme, has always puzzled me. The Family stressed the importance of always living in the NOW. Of course, that is a significant clue related to the MANSON mystique. If you could explain to me how you and your audience connect "then" to "now" mentally, I would appreciate that greatly. In many ways, for me, "then" is still "now". I would love to hear your website fans explain how THEY connect 40 years ago with today.
You were saying...
First item of business: Robert Hendrickson. Matt wrote on May 12th (cached version available at http://www.zimbio.com/member/eviliz/articles/P47wcpmtLiw/Question+Robert+Hendrickson+Readers):
"Robert Hendrickson has posed this question to the readers of Eviliz.com. I think it is a great one. Your input should be equally interesting:
This whole "Where are they now"? theme, has always puzzled me. The Family stressed the importance of always living in the NOW. Of course, that is a significant clue related to the MANSON mystique. If you could explain to me how you and your audience connect "then" to "now" mentally, I would appreciate that greatly. In many ways, for me, "then" is still "now". I would love to hear your website fans explain how THEY connect 40 years ago with today.
You were saying...
I could use the words of Steve Mcqueen,"the counter culture is responsible for America's loss of unity". "The hippies lack of concern is dangerous".[end quote]
ReplyDeleteI myself think we "now" live in the catastrophic aftermath of the hippie movement. It was totally wrong in every aspect. When you read about Manson you are reading about the beginning of America's decline. The whole "now" thing was sophistry. It was BS.
My curiousity is to just see how all that worked out for them 40 years later. Always wondered what happened to them since most off them disappeard. The Ruth images I think were a little deceiving. I've never seen a mom not look her best at there kids wedding. I'd like to see what she looks like on a normal day. I was a little surprised by the "Chuck" image. Might just be the beard that threw me off.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with your comment MrP. I think the latter part of the Baby Boomers started the decline of American culture.
My question for Mr. Hendrickson: All that money you made in profiteering from Manson and his friends... are you gonna donate any of it to ATWA?
ReplyDeleteAC, did Hendrickson really make a lot of money off of Manson's name, and story? (I'm not asking to be a sceptic or be doubtful, I'm just curious, and hope you could enlighten me).
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you are right, Ken. If we snuck up on Ruth and photographed her at Walmart on Saturday morning I'm sure the resulting image wouldn't be nearly as flattering as the wedding shots.
ReplyDeleteConversely I bet Cappy would've look much better had she not been in a hospital for who knows how long waiting for her grandchild to be born and had time to get out of that green frog t-shirt.
Chuck was a surprise to me. He looks remarkably content in that photo. I'm hoping at his age though that that is a GRANDchild.
Intellectual curiousity is the very definition of NOW. It does not matter if you have become interested in TLB in the last few years or have been a devotee for forty years...if you are curious you are in the NOW.
ReplyDeletethe Manson story is similar to the Lizzie Borden tale and the JFK assasination and OJ and Jack the Ripper etc in that it has colorful characters, compelling mysteries and most of all it captures the times in took place in so it will always retain a sociological and anthropological element. And let's be real, any story with a dozen or so good looking freaky girls is always going to hold the attention of the boys.
ReplyDeleteRobert said: If you could explain to me how you and your audience connect "then" to "now" mentally, I would appreciate that greatly.
ReplyDeletePatty cannot remember exactly what she said last time (before the *poof*) but basically she was born about three weeks before the murders and grew up around adults who used Charles Manson and Squeaky as some sort of symbol of...what? craziness? evil? drug addled hippiedom? Patty is not sure because she was too young. But was always fascinated with the story. Always.
Seeing photos of the family members now reminds me that they walk among us, that they are real people, not characters in a movie or on stage, forever as they were in 1969.
No idea how much $$ Hendrickson has made on his merchandise, but when you figure that his CDs sell for $50 a set... of course, I haven't any sort of figures about the sales. He is very quick to jump on anyone who excerpts any material from his films, such as Backporch Tapes.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to see if the people who were so loyal to Charlie then still think the same way. I know from personal experience I did really stupid stuff that I did at 17 that I would never think about doing now(not anything illegal, just stupid) and I think we can all relate to that. I find it interesting to see what the family members have to say about why they were at Spahn or why they did what Charlie asked. I was a sociology major in college and why people do what they do has always interested me...so the now part relates to that.
ReplyDeleteHope that made a bit of sense, but then again no sense makes sense:-)
Some of the reasons they did what they did were:
ReplyDeleteOBsessive Compulsive
Bipolar
Dyslexia
Schizophrenia
ADHD
Sociopathic
Substance Abuse
Child Abuse
Satanism
Brainwashing
The missing drafts have reappeared in Eviliz' drafs, sans comments. Not bad, e-blooger. Where can Patty send that cheeseball?
ReplyDeleteI have always sympathized with Susan. I can well imagine getting involved with Manson myself at the age of 18 or so and becoming utterly committed. "Go with Tex and do what he tells you" why would any of the girls have said, no, I'm not going?"Now I can look back and think I was lucky to have only been a baby and in the wrong country..
ReplyDeleteBut also, I am interested in what was right about them. Because the women are required to dismiss Manson at their parole hearings, it is hard to hear the voices that talk about the fun, the love and the belonging. They seemed to really have something going on, and for a fairly long while. It must have been fun at Spahn.
It is about 'now' because there is nothing to stop it happening again as long as people believe Bug's idiot declaration that the killers were 'evil' and Linda 'of a different kind" With the possible exception of Watson, they were not evil.
Like Ken and others, I'm just curious to see how those crazy kids have held up 40 years later.
ReplyDeleteMr P, you give Manson and the Hippie movement way to much credit. The "Hippie" movement was in its destuctive and final phase before TLB murders. The real downfall to our American way of life is not contributed to 1 person or even 1 class of people.
ReplyDeleteConservatives and Liberals are both to blame for years of failed economic poilicies.