When the going gets tough

"When the going gets tough, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson

A rite of passage for young males, post acknowledgement of the existence of girls and the first driver's license, most likely before the first nip of corn squeezin's comes one's first trip to the bookstore in search for non school assigned literature. For most, it's a dance with the forbidden, a taste of the provocative. With luck, understanding and good breeding that dance with the outlier never leaves.

Chosen wisely, your first pick may influence the rest of your life. Mine did. By the time the National Lampoon turned stale, Hunter Thompson's novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was serialized in Rolling Stone. He had me at hello, I never looked back and never regretted the ride.

In the era of Richard Nixon, Thompson's worldview and willingness to pop the ego balloons of the rich while pointing fingers at the criminals driving the bus of state and their lackey's provided incredibly solid education to the machinations of American government at its highest levels. Looking back at how politics has changed over the last 40 years Thompson appears a naif.


We didn't always agree, no one could always agree with Hunter. I do miss him though.

Happy Birthday Hunter, wherever you are.

Toad