Divermarv

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

“Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl” (Rolling Stone #155, February 28, 1974); republished in Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979), p 49

I must say that if there were one thing that I did in my childhood that was right, it was that I read. Of course it started out with comic books, a great start now that all my favorite characters are being made into CGI movie extravaganzas! But as a child I soon figured out that actually reading what was in the little dialogue bubbles made the whole story much better. At that point a dedicated reader was born. As I got older Mad Magazine, and National Lampoon crept into my library. I remember my Mom finding one of my National Lampoons after which her editorial was, “This is porn!” I suppose the Fart-man character was a bit over the top.  Ah but soon other literary classics found their way into my waiting hands, and hungry eyes. Reading assignments from school were always to my liking, except for the terrible task of writing a report. (more about that later)

Then the day came when I discovered Hunter S. Thompson! What a revelation he was. I think I may have read an article of his in Rolling Stone magazine, but no matter I was a changed man. Well a changed boy. I had seen just what the human mind can create when it is freed. The book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” was just another roadside stop in my journey to enlightenment. Oh what an impact Mr. Thompson made in my development. Forever my view of the world would be through weird-shaded glasses.  What a man he was. And no sadder a day than when he left this world on his own terms, and in his own way. I quit smoking many years ago, but I still look at pictures of him with that long cigarette holder and want to go buy one. No I won’t, but yes he is a hero to me. Not was, but is!

Then in the ’80s came a movie that though it wasn’t exactly true to the book was a milestone nonetheless. “Where the Buffalo Roam” (WtBR) starring Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson, and Peter Boyle as Lazlo the attorney. A great movie, and Murray was awesome as Hunter S. Thompson. Oh yes the latest adaptation with Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro directed by Terry Gilliam was the best. But WtBR will always hold a special place in my heart. The late Bruno Kirby was in WtBR, along with Rene Auberjonois as an uptight fellow who learns how to loosen up.

If just one person JUST one person sees WtBR then I have done my job. But if two people see it…  Sorry lapsing into a bit of “And that’s what it is , the Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement” there.

As you were.