Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson
Originally uploaded by franksutter.

Damn, Hunter S. Thompson killed himself on Sunday. He died, according to the New York Times, "of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound." My immediate thought was that he decided to go out like Hemingway. At any rate, Hunter S. Thompson influenced future journalists, and writers of many other stripes, the same way Bob Dylan affected other musicians. Everybody wished they could churn episodes of drug-laced insanity into buttered gold the way Dr. Gonzo did. His way of making himself the center of the story and yet still revealing certain before unseen truths about the real-life situation (say, the Nixon campaign) was always uncanny and enjoyable to the last. I don't know what the fuck I'm saying, but I will definitely miss Hunter S. Thompson's brand of genuine chaos and absurdity. I first read "Hell's Angels" in high school, followed by "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." I could never keep a copy of "Fear and Loathing" handy because my friends were always borrowing it and never bothering to return it. I had to buy a bunch of copies over the years, and I still don't have one in my extensive library right this second. I do have a first editon hardback of "The Great Shark Hunt" at least. The cover alone is worth owning the book for, so maybe I'll take a photo of it and post it later. My journalism teacher in college got me a job as an intern in the sport dept. at a local newspaper outside of Richmond, Virginia and gave me several books by Hunter S. Thompson to read. That was the best education a would-be journalist like me could have asked for at the time.

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