All that needs to be written on the passing of this revolutionary US literary figure and social commentator has been written by those far better equipped than myself. My personal beliefs put me at odds with Thompson's "ultimate" decision, but he left an amazing legacy in his wake and was the last of the so-called counter culture who mattered. Perhaps the only one with lasting impact beyond Gap commercials, Pyramid Power and self delusional mental retreats undertaken by aging suburban baby boomers.
Thomson described himself once as a "lazy, drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out there where the real winds blow - to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested."
His wife said something more important about him on his passing however, that captured perhaps why Thompson mattered and should continue to matter regardless of you politics:"He lived a beautiful life and he lived it on his own terms, all the way from the very beginning to the very end." A fitting goal for all of us.
