LEARY IS TUNING IN TO DEATH'S WAVELENGTH.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Los Angeles Times

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. The man who urged a generation of Americans to ``Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out,'' is preparing for the ultimate drop out.

Timothy Leary has cancer. And to hear him talk about it, he's ecstatic.

``When I found out I was terminally ill, and I know this can be misinterpreted, I was thrilled,'' says the ever-elfin Leary with enthusiasm. ``I was now entered into the real challenge of how to live an empowered life, a life of dignity.''

Leary, 74, sits at the breakfast table of his Beverly Hills home, drawing on the first of the many cigarettes he will smoke in the next hour. Although he has …