“The idea of ‘loosening the self’ not only underpinned specific 1970s enthusiasms—for jogging, natural foods, voluntary communities, and the geodesic dome—but also authorized the active search for a new, more ‘authentic’ self, indeed, the very idea of choice.” — William Graebner, Patty’s Got a Gun, p. 4.

The 1970s was a turning point in more than one way. There was a freedom in exploring new paths. The world seemed full of exciting possibilities. 

Camilla Hall moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles in 1970 to pursue the life of an artist. She was 25 years old. Can you imagine how exciting California must have seemed to a Minnesota girl? After about a year, she moved to Berkeley because she heard there was a better market there for art. She soon met her new neighbor, Patricia Soltysik. Soltysik would later become the brainchild behind the formation of the Symbionese Liberation Army, and sometime in late 1973 recruited her friend and former lover, Camilla, to join.

Totally random, but…