The Savage Journey Ends
Fuck:
DENVER (AP) — Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.
Like many young, aspiring journalists, I was a huge HST fan in my college days. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was what I aspired to. The closest I ever came was Search for the Perfect Long Island Iced Tea, a piece I co-wrote for my college magazine with my friend Larry. It was weird, but not nearly weird enough. We were amateurs playing grown-up.
Beyond the gonzo, though, Hunter was a fantastic journalist and writer. Hells Angels and Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail ’72 are classics that I’ve read and re-read many times over the years and have always had a place on my bookshelf.
This news is hitting me really hard. I’m surprised by that, actually; it’s been a long time since I was an “active” fan. I think the last book of his that I rushed out to buy was The Curse of Lono, and that was back in the 80’s. Still, though, I’m close to tears now knowing that he’s gone — and how he went.
One of my heroes has died.
Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ”the rat race” is not yet final.
— Hunter S. Thompson
7/18/1937 – 2/20/2005
Hey Chuck. My dad died last night, too (long downhill spiral after a long bout with diabetes, stroke, congestive heart failure, etc.) I don’t have the *exact* time of death, but I think he and HST went within an hour of one another. Kinda kewl :-( Larry
Hey Chuck,
I know what you mean about not normally getting broken up about celebrity deaths. For me, the only ones that have really hurt were Jerry Garcia and Joey Ramone.
With Thompson, it was out of the blue, but deep down I’m not entirely surprised. I’ve got a passing familiarity with the ravages that a lifetime of drugs and alcohol bring, and things I’d read by/about him in the past decade or so have always struck me as sounding like a guy who was in the sort of delusional and angry phase that I’ve seen alcoholic family members go through. That this can be followed up by suicide is not exactly deviating from the script.
Larry, sorry to hear about your Dad (not that it means much from a total stranger). I hope maybe you get a little solace from the image of him cruising off into the sunset with Hunter in a red Cadillac convertible with over-inflated tires. And if I can recommend a book for you…when things settle down, take a look at “The Orphaned Adult” by Alexander Levy. It helped my mom a lot when her mom died last year.
Yep, Fear and Loathing in LV was one of my faves in College as well. The movie was a pretty damn accurate retelling.
Goodbye HST!