Monday, February 21, 2005
Gonzo, Dead
Hunter S. Thompson was found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
Say what you will about the man, and there was plenty to not like, but he was one of the most creative writers of the last 50 years. I "discovered" Thompson in my teens, and even though I didn't agree with much of his politics or lifestyle, I loved the reality he created with his words. It was like the written-word equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting. Or a Beat poet on an hallucinogen, instead of the heroin and Dexedrine they so often preferred.
I quit following Thompson by the early 90's, but I recall his interview with then Democratic Presidential Nominee Bill Clinton that he did for Rolling Stone. Thompson sat down across a table from Clinton and pulled out a wind-up skipping toy in the shape of a male phallic. He let it hop across the table between he and Clinton during the interview. Apparently Thompson knew something about Mr. Clinton early on, that the rest of us would come to realize only years later.
In a biography of his life, Thompson's brother related the story of when he told his older sibling that he had AIDS. Hunter, he said, looked-up at him with deep sadness and said something to the effect of "At least your not in the shape I'm in."
In the end, Thompson's fear and loathing was more directed at himself than anything. And if it is any consolation, when Thompson committed suicide, he took his worst enemy with him.
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Say what you will about the man, and there was plenty to not like, but he was one of the most creative writers of the last 50 years. I "discovered" Thompson in my teens, and even though I didn't agree with much of his politics or lifestyle, I loved the reality he created with his words. It was like the written-word equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting. Or a Beat poet on an hallucinogen, instead of the heroin and Dexedrine they so often preferred.
I quit following Thompson by the early 90's, but I recall his interview with then Democratic Presidential Nominee Bill Clinton that he did for Rolling Stone. Thompson sat down across a table from Clinton and pulled out a wind-up skipping toy in the shape of a male phallic. He let it hop across the table between he and Clinton during the interview. Apparently Thompson knew something about Mr. Clinton early on, that the rest of us would come to realize only years later.
In a biography of his life, Thompson's brother related the story of when he told his older sibling that he had AIDS. Hunter, he said, looked-up at him with deep sadness and said something to the effect of "At least your not in the shape I'm in."
In the end, Thompson's fear and loathing was more directed at himself than anything. And if it is any consolation, when Thompson committed suicide, he took his worst enemy with him.
# posted by Joe Florida @ 3:56 AM 
