Yeah, I know. He's alive in his writings, even without his well-known works and Johnny Depp's uncannily accurate portrayal--
No. That's all true. HST lives on, as any author does after death, so long as we read him.
But I'm here to tell you, if any man ever had motive, means and opportunity to fake his own death, Thompson is that man.
Thompson had many reasons to want to disappear, but a simple return to pre-Hells' Angels anonymity looms large and most likely. It is rumoured that his latest book was a debunking of the official report on 911, including proof that the WTC towers and building seven were brought down by controlled demolition, not fire and structural failure.
This makes you a target in the current version of the USA. When powerful individuals like Paul Wellstone and Mel Carnahan (and a host of other moderate-to-liberal Democrats) take one-way plane trips into the ground with disturbing regularity, what quarter can a self-admitted dope-fiend expect?
In one of his latest interviews, he stressed, and I'm paraphrasing a bit, it is his great shame, a badge of dishonor that he and his fellow journalists never found out who killed JFK. While Hunter has long walked his talk, knowing the bead was drawn on him, he may simply have decided it was time to go underground. In "death" he can complete the 911 expose. If his allegations are sufficiently documented, he could well pull the rug out from the fascists running the game. Without detailing why [another post on that later p'raps] Thompson likely believes that the assasination of the Kennendys marked the beginning of a fascist takeover of his country. Toppling those fascists would surely slake his burning soul.
While the motive I posit is clearly wishful thinking and speculation on my part, Thompson most certainly had the means and opportunity. It is well-known that the local sheriff is his longtime friend. Indeed, Blanston recalls one misty late 90s May night in a tavern in Aspen, where the Pitkin County sheriff mingled with a crowd of NORML (National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws) lawyers openly smoking glass hookas filled with skunky Big Bud or California Indica--
Later that night, Blanston shared a joint and discussed a bit of politics with Hunter himself. Again, a topic for another post.
The point is, Pitkin County Sheriff and Coroner would have jurisdiction over the body, the investigation, and the official reports--which includes media appearances by Johhny Depp stating that Thompson's body would be cremated, then shot out of a cannon. Depp, who lived with Thompson for several months while prepping for the role of Duke, became his friend. That night in Aspen when I met Hunter, he arrived at the party in a red Boxster--given to him by Depp after the filming of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Point is, Hunter had all the help he needed--official, media and otherwise-- and the cash--to disappear.
Here's one bloke who prays--to the extent I pray at all--for Hunter to come roaring back, ripping the flesh from our foes.
If he really did check out, we are left to wonder, as noted by the Rude Pundit: If Hunter Thompson can't take it anymore, what hope is there for the rest of us?
