2005-04-16
12:19
Okay, a lot to get caught up on. First of all, this Thursday, April 21, 2005, I will be on the Bob and Tom Show again.
Hunter S. Thompson was a lot of things to a lot of people. To some, he was a great writer; to some, a counter-culture icon; to others, Johnny Depp and to others Bill Murray. To me, Hunter S. Thompson has always been the perfect example of the American anti-hero. A man who embraced life moment by moment, fueling himself with the instant gratification of intoxicants and various mood-altering drugs, as opposed to the long-term gratification that responsibility brings. Well, Hunter S. Thompson shot himself last month at his home in Colorado. Some will tell you, this is proof that living life under a mind-addling alcoholic soaked haze is not as fulfilling as we thought; and some will tell you that this is just one more piece in the every growing case that hard work and achievement and a loving family are the cornerstones of a meaningful life. Well, I say that’s just crazy talk. I say, this is the time for the debaucherers of the world to re-focus our efforts on a life committed to defiling ourselves. Whether it be the euphoric rush brought on by a pill given to you in the bathroom stall of the dance club, or the sweet subtle numbness you feel after smoking pot out of a converted Dr. Pepper can. Remember, too much is never enough. I know the other side tries to make their case with a few anecdotal cases of artists overdoing it. They might try to bring up Ernest Hemmingway, Kurt Cobain, Chris Farley, John Belushi, Jimmi Hendrix, River Phoenix, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Keith Whitley, Janis Joplin, Bon Scott, Jim Morrison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dylan Thomas, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Wolf, Fredrick Exley, John Kennedy O’Toole, Freddie Prinze, Jack Kerouac or Lenny Bruce. But they always seem to leave out the chemical induced success stories like Keith Richards, and’ well, I can’t think of anymore right now, but that’s just because my short-term memory is shot. So lets remember, to paraphrase the sergeant in Hill Street Blues…’let’s not be careful out there.’
