And here's a haunting fact. The murderous rampage that took seven lives at the homes of actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski, himself back in the news for his own repellent activities, and then supermarket exec Leno LaBianca and his wife occurred in August 1969 -- 48 years from today, but only 24 years from the liberation of Auschwitz. It was considerably closer to Nazi times than to ours.In the midst of surfers, flower children, and SoCa gear heads in Huntington Beach, Charlie Manson would perform at a small club on Main Street. Such was, and is, the California experience, with darkness visible.
Perhaps humanity had not learned because the Manson murders were their own mini-Holocaust, a death cult spawned at the Spahn Ranch. That it all began at an abandoned movie set was eerily appropriate for L.A. It also happened at a time when this city was reaching its supposed cultural zenith. Everyone wanted to come here. The Mamas and the Papas were singing "California Dreamin'." The Beach Boys were boosting the superiority of "California Girls." The surf was up. The cinema was the thing to do. You too could be the next Billy Wilder or John Huston. What could go wrong?
Well, a lot.
Occasional Holy Man and Luthier Who Offers Stray, Provocative, and Insouciant Thoughts About Religion, Archaeology, Human Foible, Surfing, and Interesting People. Thalassophile. Nemesis of all Celebrities [except for Chuck Norris]. He Lives Vicariously Through Himself. He has a Piece of Paper That Proves He's Laird of Glencoe.