Gonzo from a cannon

I read earlier this week that the writer who influenced my writing the most would be shot from a cannon -- well, his ashes will be shot from a cannon...

I really can't say that it is at all shocking to me. What amazes me is the size of the cannon they are going to use -- it's going to be part of a 53-foot structure... Oh mama...

It took me a bit to get over Hunter Thompson's death, especially when I mulled over the influence he had/has on my own writing. My commitment to first-person voicing and the value of personal experience would never be without the Gonzo roadmap. Anyone who ever read my old column, Twang!, should be able to see the bare evidence.

So I wrote this following piece for Hunter:

4HST
If the time to resist is past
and
Gunbarrels are glinting hollow locks
to be
Opened by the will to cheat God
while
All the while
drawing conclusions
that
There aren't any more crusades
no more
Fear
No more
Loathing
no more
Words doing cartwheels
Everything I make is in
debt...
It took me two minutes to
pen this
It took me two weeks to
sit here,
however

3/14/05