Magic Hammer
Dear Jack,
Thanx for the wonderful equipment you have sent me – via George Tobia. They scared the shit out of many cool people. Ho ho
Yeah, Jack – I’m “the writer” + now I want to Rachet up the element of FEAR in our experiements…
— Hunter S. Thompson in a letter to the owner of Jack’s Joke Shop.
That is from a note that Hunter wrote to Jack’s Joke shop regarding a package that his friend George Tobia sent to him following a sort of tradition they started many years ago. George (as you know is also Hunter’s IP lawyer and trustee) would send Hunter boxes upon boxes of … how do I describe it… not jokes, but yes, Equipment. Not only did George and Hunter keep similar hours, but they also had the same twisted sense of fun. Here is a portion of the list that George sent to him on August 14th 2002:
Full Speed Crazy Roach
Full Speed Crazy Mouse
Rat-on-a-Leash (George noted that this one was “truly grotesque and amazing”)
Rat-in-a-Trap
Dancing Ostrich
Exploding Lighter
Exploding Pen
Exploding Bomb
Magic Hammer (this is what you hear in the background of many of Hunter’s radio interviews)
Severed Foot
Drinker’s Dice
Fake Winning Lottery Tickers
Shit List
No-tear Toilet Paper
The list goes on and on. Hunter loved these props and they are still in use at Owl Farm. You can read Hunter and George’s correspondence in this issue of the Woody Creeker. Enjoy.
Your friend back in New York,
Anita Thompson
P.S. My honeymoon with New York is over. Coming back to the sensory overload of NYC after the peaceful weekend at my home in the Rockies has really jarred my nerves. All my personality defects and quirks have surfaced, like long lost friends. I think that’s the case with everyone else in NYC too. All I’m focused on, however, are my classes, but I can’t help thinking about Owl Farm.
