Success
Hello. Hunter’s birthday party was a success. I had about 35 or 40 local friends and beautiful women over for a celebration with a ton of food and even more liquor & wine. Neighbor Jimmy Ibbotson from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played, and there were great speeches too. Ed Bradley, artist Tom Benton and Wayne Ewing (who also was filming for Alex Gibney) spoke along with many other long-time friends. The mood of the party was much happier than last year, as Hunter’s spirit is more power than ever at Owl Farm.
Several friends drove up from Denver which was nice, and I did invite one new friend to fly up from L.A. named Blue Kraning. He showed us his independent documentary that he just finished about a select group of Hunter’s fans who were preparing their canons with the hopes that their’s would be chosen to fire Hunter’s ashes over Owl Farm. These are not the famous actors, politicians or journalists. These are the readers who are “Hunter’s people” in the purest sense, an army of thoughtful citizens who are inspired by his work and who do the real job of carrying on Hunter’s legacy. I’m at the library now, so I don’t have Kraning’s info with me, but I’ll post a link in the next blog.
Today’s HST wisdom is from the introduction to Fear and Loathing in America. I remember when he wrote it on August 20th, 2000. He was describing his history in Woody Creek starting in the late 60’s, and his love of Owl Farm and the community:
My main luxury in those years – a necessary luxury, in fact – was the ability to work in and out of my home-base fortress in Woody Creek. It was a very important psychic anchor for me, a crucial grounding point where I always knew I had love, friends & good neighbors. It was like my personal Lighthouse that I could see from anywhere in the world – no matter where I was, or how weird & crazy & dangerous I got, everything would be okay if I could just make it home. When I made that hairpin turn up the hill onto Woody Creek Road, I knew I was safe.
–Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America.
On a side note, here’s a great quote I picked up from Hal Haddon (Hunter’s lawyer and long-time friend) that you’ll like, particularly because you won’t be able to find its origination on the internet. If you do, I’ll send you a free gonzo gift:
“Success requires as much art as effort”Until next time, your friend,
Anita Thompson
