That's awesome....
At 07:19 PM 2/23/2005, you wrote: >Thompson's Ashes May Be Shot From Cannon > >Wednesday, February 23, 2005 > >DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson, the "gonzo journalist" with a penchant >for drugs, guns and flame-thrower 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 said it's doable. > >"Oh, sweet. I'd love to. I would so love to," said Williams, 44, owner >of Night Musick Inc. 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, the spokesman 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 pre-planned 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. > >Sales of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and other Thompson favorites >have soared since his death. "Fear and Loathing" was No. 15 on >Amazon.com as of Wednesday and publisher Vintage Books has ordered a >sizable reprinting. > >"We usually sell about 60,000-70,000 copies a year of that book and >our next printing will be close to that total," Vintage spokesman >Russell Perreault said. > >Other Thompson books selling well include "Hell's Angels," "Fear and >Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" and "Hey Rube." > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:148171 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
