Hunter S. Thompson's Last Word

[Rush1184]

King of Gonzo has the last word

Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday March 3, 2005
The Guardian

It might not have the majesty of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or the viciousness of his attacks on the American dream. But the last written word of Hunter S Thompson, who died last week, has left the literary world intrigued.
According to a sheriff's report, the author's body was found in a chair by his kitchen table, on which a typewriter had been placed and a page of writing paper had been lined up with the word "counselor" (sic) typed at its centre.
<snip>


http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1429071,00.html

[Benson]

1. "Hey. Is this thing loaded?"

Oops. bad taste.

[KoKo]

2. I read two reports that said there was a "blank" sheet of paper in the

typewriter. No mention of a letterhead or a word. Anyone remember or have links to the articles which interviewed his family. It's the ones that talk about the family standing around with glasses of Chivas while Hunter's lifeless body was in the chair. :shrug:

[b...]

here's the text from rocky mountain news story...enjoy

'Loving' farewell to writer
Wife details family gathering with Thompson dead in chair

By Jeff Kass, © 2005, Rocky Mountain News
February 25, 2005

ASPEN — Hunter S. Thompson heard the ice clinking.

The literary champ was sitting in his command post kitchen chair, a piece of blank paper in his favorite typewriter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier.

But a small circle of family and friends gathered around with stories, as he wished, with glasses full of his favored elixir — Chivas Regal on ice.

"It was very loving. It was not a panic, or ugly, or freaky," Thompson's wife, Anita Thompson, said Thursday night in her first spoken comments since the icon's death Sunday. "It was just like Hunter wanted. He was in control here."

Anita Thompson also echoes the comments that have been made by Hunter Thompson's son and daughter-in-law: That her husband's suicide did not come from the bottom of the well, but was a gesture of strength and ultimate control made as his life was at a high-water mark.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[KoKo]

4. Thanks.....it does say a "blank piece of paper."

Reading the article again...the whole scene just seems weird.

[hippiechick]

6. You might want to edit this ....

Copyright rules state that we can only (re)print 3-4 paragraphs, then a link to the article, without prior permission.

:hi: Welcome to DU !

[Psephos]

3. Guardian seems not to know how "counselor" is spelled in the US

Which jaundices me about other ruminations in the article. If you're going to write a piece on an author's last word, spending literally 30 seconds to check the American spelling seems the least one could ask.

[Demit]

5. ?? They noted that "counselor" is the American spelling, which it is, and

that the British is "counsellor". I don't understand your objection.

[Psephos]

10. Perhaps we read different versions of the article?

In the one I read (by following the link in the post), there is no mention of the difference in spelling. Instead, the writer appended "(sic)" after reporting HT's last word, which means the writer knows the original is incorrect, and is trying to avoid looking like he/she made a mistake when reproducing the error. A few paragraphs later, the only other reference to American usage is "It could have been the beginning of a letter addressed to a lawyer (one of the American uses of the word counsellor, along with therapist or adviser)...."

It's no big deal, just a passing observation on my part.

Peace.

[Demit]

11. well, "sic" just means "as written", or "intentionally as written". It's

not used only when a word is incorrect. The Guardian is writing for a British audience, using "sic" to point out that they are reproducing the word the way it appeared. Probably unnecessarily, but maybe that's a rule in their style book.

Also, British lawyers have different functions from ours (eg, solicitors are lawyers who don't plead cases in court) and maybe "counsellor" isn't used in Britain as a synonym for lawyer at all.

I agree, no biggie. Thanks for replying, and peace back :)

[booksenkatz]

7. LOL My Brit hubby and I bicker about spelling all the time

The Brits use waaaaaaayy too many letters in words, for my liking. Foetid. Foetus. Haemmorhage. Colour. Acccckkk!

Yes, the Brits will firmly believe that Thompson did not spell his last word properly, I assure you!

[psychopomp]

8. Thanks for posting this

n/t

[hnsez]

9. HST going to type who outed Plame - Pres.Counselor Dan Bartlett

http://www.markarkleiman.com/archives/000062.html

[Mr.Green93]

12. "counselor"

a reference to his friend and co-character in Fear&Loathing, LV?

[Alizaryn]

13. Some of the Anagrams ...

"counselor"

CLONE OURS

CLOSER UNO
CLOSURE ON
CLOSURE NO
(my favorite) LOCO NURSE

[rumpel]

14. This is quite intriguing. Why would he start writing a letter and kill

himself?
The very act of starting to convey something to someone on the Fourth Ammendment Foundation letterhead", which he seemed to care a great deal about implies he was not starting to write a suicide note.

or did he say f* it, I am tired of fighting?

On this foundation he says:

How did you get involved with them?
Shit, I was on the board of NORML. On the national advisory board, and I got to know these people. Needless to say, a lot of criminal lawyers there. When I got busted about ten years ago, these guys, along with my master lawyer, Hal Haddon from Denver, came and rescued me. These guys have one way or another come out of NORML and the politics of the ’70s and ’80s. They helped me completely and totally destroy a nasty case against me. We got to know each other and we got to be friends. It’s very much like a political campaign, with horrible stakes for the losers. If I had lost this, I would no doubt have ended up in prison doing time.

I really appreciate the guys who came over the hill, like Keith Stroup from NORML. I came to know these guys through the Mitchell brothers , and we formed the Fourth Amendment Foundation. The purpose was to have a lawyer—a big one—available at all times in all fifty states. We did a lot of thinking about it, but our purpose was to make it a fact in law that the state had to pay the legal expenses of anybody the state accused of a crime and failed to convict.

http://www.hightimes.com/ht/entertainment/content.php?bid=228&aid=2

[Merlin]

15. It is from Ecclesiastes and Handel's Messiah

One of the greatest songs from the Messiah suite is "For Unto Us a Child Is Born," the lyrics for which come from Ecclesiastes 9:6

This is a very well known piece of music and even those who don't know it by name would no doubt recognize it if they heard it.

(Ironically Handel and most Christians take these words as foretelling the birth of Jesus, when in actuality they were about the birth of King David, nearly a thousand years earlier--though this particular OT book was written about 400bce)

For unto us a child is born
For unto us a child is born
Unto us A son is given
Unto us A son is given
And the government shall be upon his shoulder
And his name shall be called
Wonderful
Counsellor
The mighty God
The everlasting Father
ThePrince of Peace.