02-21-05 So long, Dr. Gonzo.

I don't know if it's a shame or not, but Hunter S. Thomson is dead. It will be really interesting to see how his carreer is celebrated. I can't imagine the Oprah Winfrey book of the month club puttin "Hells Angles" on their lists, but who knows. Thomson has an estate, and estates have bills to pay.

Actually, the only stuff I've read is some of his Rolling Stone late 80s and early 90s pieces, a few of the "gonzo" letters, "Hells Angles" and "Las Vegas". Reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was sort of a rite of spring for me. Never had I seen irrevrance at such an extreme level. His crazed charactors were the heros of two generations of druggies, spitting irony in the face of the developing super capitalism that was emerging in my lifetime.

My favorite lines are when he's ordering food from a lady at some burger place and he spits out:

"We're looking for the American Dream, and we heard it was someplace here in Las Vegas."

Of course, the gal thinks he's looking for a strip club.

Thomson was a good journalist, though. His embedded journalism was unmatchable. When I went back, years later, and read his work on the Hells Angles, I couldn't help but be impressed. He actually enmeshed himself with the gang, rode with them for two years, then wrote the book. At the end he says that the publication left him on the gang's hit list, to be dealt with accordingly by any Angel who sould find him. But, today, Hunter's book is a piece of history. He told the story of the Sonny Barger Oakland club - the very same group blamed for the violance and death at the Rolling Stone's free concert at Altemont in 1969 - from the inside.

Well, Dr. Gonzo. So long.For the chamical well being of the world, I can't say that I hope there's another one like you. But for the bravery of journalism, you made quite a mark. I do believe that the purpose of journalism is to question the common perception. Gonzo did that. He also spat in it, shit in it, and rubbed it in it's own fucking twisted face.

Hunter S. Thomson
d. 2/20/2005
Suicide by Gunshot