The Devil’s Day
"These freaks should all be put to sleep," I said to Anita. "Let’s go out on the town and get weird."
"Wonderful," she chirped. "We will put on our costumes and throw eggs at foreigners. What are you going to wear?""Only this turban, and a jock strap," I said. "And some lipstick. They love lipstick."
Anita was dressed up as the coach of the New York Giants. "They are Losers," she said. "It is OK to mock Losers, right?"
"Yes," I said, "It is righteous to mock Losers in this country. We are Number One."
"Thank you," she said. "You must be a sportswriter.""You bet," I replied. "We are going to fly to Hawaii with Sean Penn next month. You will probably need a new Rolex."
"Yes." She nodded. "We will have to be inconspicuous for that kind of travel. Is he still Drinking?"
"No." I replied. "He is going into training for the Honolulu Marathon. Perhaps we should stop drinking too."
"Not today," she said with a wink. "Today is the Devil’s day."She was right, of course — although some people will tell you that the Devil has had a lot of Days, recently. They see him behind every bush
–Hunter S. Thompson, Halloween, 2001, Hey Rube
That was Halloween a few years ago. It was fun. Before we went to town to get weird, Hunter and I put whiskey, candles and photos of our dead relatives on the table. We set up a nice place for his mom, dad, brother, my grandma, and uncle with their photos spread around the round table in the living room in beautiful frames. It was a fun party of the dead. This year was more subdued. I want to tell you about the guest trick-or-treater that’s visiting.
Late last night I was still working on one of my papers and walked into the kitchen for my tea, when I felt that there was somebody else in the apartment with me. This was a new presence, in addition to Hunter, who is with me almost constantly. I didn’t think much of it, until I walked into the living room and saw it walking across my hardwood floor. I almost jumped, but instead became puzzled. “That’s a strange looking mouse.” I thought as I got closer. “That’s no mouse, that’s a the biggest cockroach I have ever seen!” More like a Madagascar beetle. He walked across the floor slowly, with a strut and an attitude.
I couldn’t kill him, I wouldn’t even know how since this is my first cockroach in NYC. So, I named him Henry. He’s my new roommate. And he is sitting in the corner, staring at me still.
***
Anyway, with the election coming up in 8 days, let’s post the Bill of Rights. Think of it as a reminder from Hunter. For those of us educated in our ever-so-sloppy public schools, here is a quick refresher: When the Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1789, which was wonderful finally establishing a strong federal government, seperated into three main brances, there was still a HUGE problem: No specific protections of personal and civil liberties… So on December 15, 1791, ten amendments were added to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. What I’ll do is post one a day until election, when I’ll post the entire thing. Okay?
Until next time, your friends,
Anita and Henry.
AMENDMENT I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Here is an article in Today’s Rocky Mountain News by Jeff Kass, about Hunter, me and Columbia.
Colorado paper