Posted on 02/24/2005 7:54:47 PM PST by XR7
DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson, the "gonzo journalist" with a penchant for drugs, guns and flamethrower prose, might have one more salvo in store for everyone: Friends and relatives want to blast his ashes out of a cannon, just as he wished."If that's what he wanted, we'll see if we can pull it off," said historian Douglas Brinkley, a friend of Thompson's and now the family's spokesman.
Thompson, who shot himself to death at his Aspen-area home Sunday at 67, said several times he wanted an artillery send-off for his remains. "There's no question, I'm sure that's what he would want," said Mike Cleverly, a longtime friend and neighbor. "Hunter truly loved that kind of thing."
Colorado fireworks impresario Marc Williams says it can be done. "Oh, sweet. I'd love to. I would so love to," said Williams, 44, owner of Night Musick in suburban Denver and a fan of Thompson's writing.
Thompson's wife, Anita, and son, Juan, are looking into the cannon scenario, said Brinkley, who has edited some of Thompson's work.
Brinkley also said Thompson did not take his life "in a moment of haste or anger or despondency" but probably planned his suicide well in advance because of declining health. The author of books including "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was in pain from a host of problems that included a broken leg and a hip replacement.
"I think he made a conscious decision that he had an incredible run of 67 years, lived the way he wanted to and wasn't going to suffer the indignities of old age," Brinkley said. "He was not going to let anybody dictate how he was going to die."
Thompson had spent an intimate weekend with his son, daughter-in-law and young grandson, Brinkley said.
"He was trying to really bond and be close to the family" before his suicide, Brinkley said. "This was not just an act of irrationality. It was a very preplanned act."
Family members had no hint that Thompson planned to take his own life, Brinkley said, and he did not leave a note. "There was no farewell salutation," he said.
Williams, the fireworks impresario, said it is not uncommon for families to have their loved one's ashes scattered across the sky in a fireworks shell, though his company has never done it.
If the Thompson job were his, Williams said, he would probably blast the ashes from a 12-inch-diameter mortar 800 feet into the sky. Then a second, window-rattling blast would scatter them amid a blossom of color 600 feet across.
"If you were going to light up a flash-bomb worthy of Hunter S. Thompson, you'd want to make it an earth-shaker," Williams said.
Thompson had spent an intimate weekend with his son, daughter-in-law and young grandson, Brinkley said."He was trying to really bond and be close to the family" before his suicide, Brinkley said.
Heartwarming, eh?
Always go out with a bang.
Since he obviously considered life so worthless, just flush him.
How 'bout we just flush the old bastard down the twalet?
...it's the funeral that's shot from guns!
(Dad taught me the Quaker Puffed Wheat jingle when I was a kid.)
He will be just like Quaker puffed oats! Shot from a cannon. How dignified.
oops was it wheat or oats?
Just hope they don't shoot into the wind.
I know he's not popular on FR, but I enjoyed reading his old books. RIP.
Lol, it's not dignified at all, but certainly true to form.
I didn't agree with him politically, but I loved his work. I also loved his no-guts support for the 2nd amendment among other things. One of my favorite writers. Too bad I never got to meet him.
I think it could have been both. I know Quaker had both.
Shooting the drug laced remains of Hunter S. Thompson out of a cannon should be considered an environmental hazard.
It was puffed wheat or puffed rice. Shot from guns. I remember that like it was yesterday.
Amen!
A jackass till the end, and even in death.
[Freepmail me to get on or off this Not-A-Ping-List.]
Hmmm. or put his ashes in the front seat of a 73 El Dorado and push it off a cliff. Perhaps I shouldn't be so flippant... after all the man recently died. He should be afforded his dignity.
So blow him out of a mortar already.
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