A “Very” Exclusive interview with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

DP: Speaking of clouds, how did you wind up on cloud 68?

HST: Because cloud 69 is reserved for Larry Flynt. (We both laughed at that one.)

DP: I guess I walked right into that one, huh? Hunter, tell me a little about your work.

HST: What’s to tell? (lights another cigarette) Las Vegas was a road book, in a strange kind of way. Kerouac has been in my face for that one, him writing On the Road and all. He thinks he created the road novel. What a conceited bastard. . . He acts liked he’s never heard of Thomas Wolfe or Ernest Hemingway. I should turn him over to the authorities. . . after I steal his Benzedrine, that is.

DP: On The Road IS the Bible for adventurers and travelers the world over. . .

HST: I’ve been hearing that noise everyday for the last three years. . . Jack won’t shut up about it. Ego is an unstoppable force once it gets moving. . . it’s a monster like a fat man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

DP: Let’s get back on track. . . how about your work?

HST: Oh yeah, let’s see, The Rum Diary is me working for some paper in Puerto Rico but mostly I spent my time getting loaded on the beach. All the books are my life. I put everything out there for the world to see, warts and all.

DP: One of your last works, Kingdom of Fear, addresses in part the post 9-11 world. What stood out the most for you, in terms of change, in the US especially?

HST: The citizens of the US fell right into Dubya’s hands. That poor, clueless bastard. . . America welcomed their “Big Brother” warmly. With paranoia running wild as a forest fire, the WMDs argument was an easy sell. The invasion of Iraq was not about liberating an oppressed people; it was about oil, money, and little Georgie being pissed at Hussein for taking on his daddy. That’s good ol’ Texas justice, baby. The government has kept all of you down there paranoid to such a degree that it’s unbelievable.

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