RIP: Hunter S. Thompson

By Alice Hill
This will probably be the one time we break our very steadfast tech-and-only-tech rule. About an hour ago I found out that Hunter S. Thompson was dead of what they believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

You can find many places online that will detail his controversial career and life, but I just want to say this: HST taught me how to write or at least write in a more edgy and fearless way, and that is not a small thing when you string words together for a living. I didn’t really get his obsessions with guns, and Aspen, political campaigns, sports and hardcore drinking and drugs, but I loved the way the man wrote a sentence. Even Richard Nixon loved the way he covered football and wanted to talk sports alone with him, despite the fact that Thompson was not exactly a fan. Anyway, the weird thing was, I was reading an old book of his this weekend. Just decided out of the blue to re-read some of his work, and then found this out before turning in tonight.

Thanks for letting me use this place to thank someone who helped me write the Hard Edge in a harder and edgier way than I might have. That was not a small act when you are just starting out. To that above all I give thanks.