Owl Farm Blog

Hi.  I’ve been going through my emails this afternoon.  I’m thinking about going ahead and posting some of the blog reader’s emails.  Although I have to admit that there is no way I could read them all personally, (this morning I woke up to 348 in the inbox from just one account) I DO try to at least scan them. And try, when I can, to ignore the nasty ones.  For me to read them, the trick is to keep them short and smart.  I will ask my web guy, Peter, to set up a comments section that I can monitor.  It will be a good way to keep the gonzo family connected. And you guys can post HST quotes in addition to your own thoughts. Peter? 

            Today’s HST wisdom is about The New Dumb: It’s a little grim, but as I finish a paper for my American Civ  class on the American Reconstruction period after the civil war,  I think about the night that Hunter wrote this column and how he worried about this country and its future:

Something is happening here,

But you don’t know what it is,

Do you, Mr. Jones?

— Bob Dylan

 

No sir, not a chance.  Mr. Jones does not even pretend to know what’s happening in American right now, and neither does anyone else.

            We have seen Weird Times in this country before, but the year 2000 is beginning to look super weird.  This time, there really is nobody flying the plane… We are living in dangerously weird times now.  Smart people just shrug and admit they’re dazed and confused.

            The only ones left with any confidence at all are the New Dumb.  It is the beginning of the end of our world as we knew it.  Doom is the operative ethic. …

…Autumn is always a time of Fear and Greed and Hoarding for the winter coming on.  Debt collectors are active on old people and fleece the weak and helpless.– 

Here is an example of a good reader email — which referrs to last my last blog entry:  Thanks "T." (from NYC)

One my constant complaints is that people do not eat grapefruit anymore.  Fruits and vegetables in general have seemed to become an afterthought.  I am glad to hear that Hunter both enjoyed his food and also advocated eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Sure, grapefruit seemed to be a given in his articles, but it has always been difficult for me to see where Raoul Duke ended and Hunter Thompson began.  Thank you for giving us these small glimpses into the life of the real Dr. Thompson.  The legend overshadowed the man.

By the way, I know that gym you are talking about on 80th and Broadway.  It’s a strange sight to see sweaty runners in Old Navy gym shorts through those picture windows while the rest of us are walking around outside trying to crawl inside ourselves to avoid the cold.

The above blog reader’s myspace address is http://www.myspace.com/Erleichda1 

Until next time, your friend

Anita Thompson

P.S.  For those emails from confused readers who think that Hunter stiffed an employee, the following is a note about Hunter’s generosity:  Hunter was nothing but a generous employer and good friend. The settlement the Denver & Aspen  papers refered to was a zero-money settlement.  It is true that Hunter never had a lot of money (he was rich in every other way), but he ALWAYS paid his staff.  What he couldn’t pay in cash, he paid by providing beautiful housing on some of the most beautiful land in the valley, all room and board, health insurance, car insurance, steak and wine, and even money and gifts to staff’s families not to mention providing for more money, if it ever came available in the future despite all the crap he actually put up with.  But Hunter put  people in place to protect his reputation and his estate after he was gone, such as his good friends Hal Haddon, George Tobia, and Doug Brinkley – and of course, his wife!  Hunter was very generous not just to her, but to EVERYBODY who worked for him and was famous for overpaying whenever he could. many boxes in the archive are full of letters just thanking HUnter for his generosity.  plus, it’s never wise to try to squeeze blood out of a turnip.