The Death of Gonzo

Probably the most insane, yet most genius thing Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ever did was to run for sheriff of his hometown Aspen, Colo. Crazy because he was more of a fringe journalist who used rather unorthodox methods, such as taking various mind-altering substances and writing about his ensuing adventures while on assignment. Genius because he knew what he wanted to change and had the guts to back up the facts.\nDuring the "Good Doctor's" campaign for sheriff, Rolling Stone printed his platform, which included some of the following points: drug sales must be controlled, change the name "Aspen" to "Fat City," the sheriff and his deputies should never be armed in public, dead-end the highway, no more busts for "flute playing" or blocking the sidewalk and the cops would become trash collectors and maintenance men for a fleet of municipal bicycles for anyone to use. Dr. Thompson ended up losing the election by less than 500 votes. That was 1970.\nLast month, Dr. Thompson blew his brains out at his Colorado home. He was 67. Ernest Hemingway, whom Dr. Thompson had always admired, died the same way. \nDuring his life, the self-proclaimed father of "Gonzo Journalism" wrote for numerous publications including Rolling Stone and ESPN in addition to authoring several novels, which were all essentially semi-autobiographical works. Two of his novels, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Where the Buffalo Roam" have been made into feature films starring Johnny Depp and Bill Murray, respectively. Two other novels, "The Rum Diaries" and "The Curse of Lono" are nearing production and will star Depp and Sean Penn, who were close friends of the Good Doctor. Depp actually spent several weeks at Dr. Thompson's estate learning the man, shooting off guns and detonating various explosives at 2 in the morning. \nThere has never been and will never be another writer like him. A slow night for Dr. Thompson was one in which he ordered eight drinks at one time. After spending years delving into a vast array of mind-altering substances, it seems alcohol simply did not have much effect on the Good Doctor. While Dr. Thompson was widely known for using illegal substances, it only caused him trouble on one occasion. Police officers once searched his home and found marijuana, cocaine, LSD and dynamite. He was arrested but beat the case using his knowledge of the Constitution, specifically the 4th amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizures. \nWhile Dr. Thompson's writing style shows obvious influence from the classic beat writers like Jack Kerouac, Tobias Wolfe and Ken Kesey, all of whom he had corresponded with, the Good Doctor had an honesty in everything he wrote that cannot be matched. For instance, he openly despised Richard Nixon and wrote that the ex-President was a "swine." When Dr. Thompson was given the opportunity to talk with his arch-nemesis, he refused to talk about anything other than sports for the entire hour they were together. \nFame and convention interested him very little. Dr. Thompson would often be summoned to speak at universities or writing classes, and the results were often quite unexpected. He always had a drink in hand during these talks and for the most part he would mumble incoherently for several hours until the crowd tired of him and gradually dissipated. \nDespite all the drugs, alcohol and mischief Dr. Thompson was involved with during his life, writing was clearly his passion. In his books, it was as if he was relating his observations directly without ever having to become a central character. He could turn a simple situation such as parking a car or getting pulled over for speeding into the most hilarious episode ever put on paper. He was one of the first writers who intrigued me with more than one of his works. Many famous writers will have a big hit somewhere during their careers and are subsequently not able to follow it up with anything worthwhile. This is certainly not the case with Dr. Thompson. Though I have not read them all, I have yet to read one of his novels that did not leave an impression on me and make me laugh out loud hysterically. His ability to be humorous while still conveying intelligent and well developed theories is truly astounding. \nIn death, the Good Doctor's writing lives on. Who knows, maybe one day universities will have a class devoted to his work. He would no doubt have a good laugh if that were ever to happen. Until then, his books will tell the crazy stories that make up his life, and if even half the stuff he writes about are based on true events then he should've died five times over (see "Kingdom of Fear"). \nAs a last hurrah, Dr. Thompson requested that his ashes be fired out of a cannon by "Col." Johnny Depp. He would've made one hell of a sheriff.