Leary can get a part of my mind that’s kind of rusted shut grinding again, just by being around him and talking.
Meaning of the quote
The quote suggests that the author's mind can become "rusted shut" and stuck, but when they are around a person named Leary and talk to them, it helps "grind" that stuck part of their mind open again. In other words, being in Leary's presence and conversing with them unlocks a part of the author's mind that had become stagnant or blocked.
About Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey was an American novelist and countercultural figure who bridged the Beat Generation and the hippie era. He is best known for his novels ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘Sometimes a Great Notion,’ as well as his involvement with the Merry Pranksters and the Acid Tests, which influenced the Grateful Dead.
More quotes from Ken Kesey
It’s time to move on to the next step in the psychedelic revolution. We’ve reached a certain point, but we’re not moving any more.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing.
American novelist (1935-2001)
There’s a lot of people who don’t understand the circle crops in England. Pure enigma.
American novelist (1935-2001)
When we first broke into that forbidden box in the other dimension, we knew we had discovered something as surprising and powerful as the New World when Columbus came stumbling onto it.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Nowhere else in history has there ever been a flag that stands for the right to burn itself. This is the fractal of our flag. It stands for the right to destroy itself.
American novelist (1935-2001)
People don’t want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fabric of the society we live in.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The Grateful Dead are our religion. This is a religion that doesn’t pay homage to the God that all the other religions pay homage to.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The truth doesn’t have to do with cruelty, the truth has to do with mercy.
American novelist (1935-2001)
You’ve got to get out and pray to the sky to appreciate the sunshine; otherwise you’re just a lizard standing there with the sun shining on you.
American novelist (1935-2001)
I used to think we were going to win in the ’60s. Nixon went out and I thought we won.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The ’60s aren’t over; they won’t be over until the Fat Lady gets high.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Tricker the Squirrel is the best piece I ever wrote. It’s intricate.
American novelist (1935-2001)
To hell with facts! We need stories!
American novelist (1935-2001)
I was raised a Christian and was a stone-faced acid head.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Me and Norman Mailer have talked about how hard it is in America to get better. Especially at writing.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The frontiers we broke into in the ’60s are still largely unexplored.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The Haight is just a place; the ’60s was a spirit.
American novelist (1935-2001)
You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Loved. You can’t use it in the past tense. Death does not stop that love at all.
American novelist (1935-2001)
When Shakespeare was writing, he wasn’t writing for stuff to lie on the page; it was supposed to get up and move around.
American novelist (1935-2001)
If grass were legalized, it would help our drug problem enormously.
American novelist (1935-2001)
I’ve been to too many Dead concerts. There’ve been smokin’ holes where my memory used to be.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Leary can get a part of my mind that’s kind of rusted shut grinding again, just by being around him and talking.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Allen Ginsberg is a tremendous warrior as time goes by. He’s a warrior first and a poet second.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The trouble with super heroes is what to do between phone booths.
American novelist (1935-2001)
People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Listen, wait, and be patient. Every shaman knows you have to deal with the fire that’s in your audience’s eye.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Fascism wants Baptism coast to coast.
American novelist (1935-2001)
When you’re around the whole Dead scene, they’re there as a tribal thing; they’re there as part of a rendezvous and a pow-wow.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Ritual is necessary for us to know anything.
American novelist (1935-2001)
I’d rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph.
American novelist (1935-2001)
Take what you can use and let the rest go by.
American novelist (1935-2001)
If you’re a Conservative, why aren’t you behind conserving the land?
American novelist (1935-2001)
There’s something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy.
American novelist (1935-2001)
You can’t really be strong until you see a funny side to things.
American novelist (1935-2001)
The Republican consciousness has no integrity and it falls apart once you check it out. If you’re a Christian, why would you want to fry this dude?
American novelist (1935-2001)