Je Suis Arrivé
Je suis arrivé à Genève. C’est magnifique. J’ai oublié comment magnifique sont les Alpes. So yes, I made it safely….but I have spotty internet reception. I’m taking advantage of this rare moment to poach somebody’s internet, maybe Koffi Annan’s. I live 4 doors down from him.
On my way to the airport in Denver, I stopped by to pick up a proof of the Woody Creeker, which will be shipped next week. It’s the best one yet. I’m happy to present to you the 5th issue! Êtes-vous surpris? Oh ye of little faith.
Why am I in Geneva? I’m here to test out of my Columbia credits for French (which is rusty as hell from being dormant for so many years), translate a short book into French, and, well, come back to my roots. I went to high school here long before I met Hunter. I love the Alps more than I have words to express. And let’s just say I needed a break. When my dear friend Alice Cotton told me her apartment was going to be empty for the spring, and I have the best caretakers for my animals and Owl Farm… it was easy.
I’ll continue to check in with HST wisdom (tomorrow) from the Aspen Wall Poster and Campaign Trail in the following weeks.
I’ve been getting 99 % positive emails. But… with that comes some of the nastiests emails I’ve ever read, mainly because of my support for Hillary. My criticism of Obama last week spurred one reader to write that, clearly, with my attittude, I was the reason Hunter killed himself. Jesus. Anybody who has lost a spouse to suicide goes to bed every night thinking that anyway. If Hunter hadn’t warned me about these kind of people, or prepared me, I’d be on my knees from those emails. But he did warn me, and prepare me.
So what I get from those wicked emails is the sense that the dumber and more inarticulate they are, the nastier they are. That’s the trend. Most people who understand Hunter are smart, decent human beings. But the one percenters –the fringe riff-raff — are an ugly reality I can live with.
Anyway, I’m not done with politics, and I’m entitled to my individual opinions — Hunter wouldn’t want it any other way. I’ve been without my normal news outlets here — which, have you noticed are becoming more and more like Saturday Night Live skits? The days of Walter Cronkite and Ed Bradley and Hunter Thompson are over, over, over.
Luckily, there are still several thoughtful artists, writers and thinkers out there. Ralph Steadman comes to mind, Tom Wolfe, Christopher Hitchens, a few others… Today’s wisdom is actually a question from Ralph Steadman. He was writing to his good friend Robert Chalmers, who is an Oscar Wilde scholar. Here is his faustian question:
Anita would like to talk with you about Wilde and she is in Geneva absorbing knowledge and wisdom. I have a hunch that they are two separate things.
The Faustian question is- which would you give your soul for? Knowing everything or being wise? You are not allowed to have both…….this is not a moral question, but it
may be a paradox…….isn’t that a truth seen around a corner?? I better stop. I am
beginning to talk funny…..
— Ralph Steadman in Kent, awaiting the arival of his second grandson!!
More TK. I gotta run, but will check in asap.
your friend in Switzerland,
Anita Thompson
