Hunter S. Thompson -- A story without an end?

[BuyingThyme]

Before taking his life, Hunter Thompson wrote one last item. Found in his typewriter was a sheet of paper with the word “counselor” typed in the middle. This was widely reported, but I haven’t heard much about it since that day.

In one of the DU threads, somebody suggested that counselor might be an anagram. Without getting into it, a couple of us suggested no closure as a possible solution.

This solution seemed appropriate for a man who was, figuratively and literally, leaving life in the middle of a page.

Do you buy into this anagram theory?

[two gun sid]

1. He left in the middle of your page...

not his page. Please, no tinfoil theories about the Doc's death.

[BuyingThyme]

3. Okay, smart guy.

Tell us why he typed the word "counselor" in the middle of the page before he took his life.

[Snap]

5. We'll see.

That's what was on the roll. I'm guessing there's still lots more from Hunter that is still on the loose.

[two gun sid]

8. I have no idea. I'm more interested in why he pulled the trigger.

No one will miss HST's writings more than I will but, his suicide is not any of my business. I'll leave that to his family. If they start asking questions I'll start looking at conspiracy theories.

[BuyingThyme]

10. So you think he did this so that you WOULDN'T talk about it?

Not a chance.

He wanted you to read it.

He wanted you to think about it.

[two gun sid]

14. One typed word on a page...

is a pretty slim lead on any great conspiracy. Listen, I'm a big fan of HST and I know you are too. This is not meant to be a slam on you or your ideas. I just think, sometimes, a suicide is just a suicide.

[BuyingThyme]

16. I don't understand your use of the word

conspiracy.

And I don't think anybody's saying that his suicide is something other than a suicide.

Perhaps you misread the post?

[two gun sid]

19. Reread your post. No, I do not buy the anagram theory.

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

21. Maybe nobody's saying it,

but I've certainly wondered and I'm guessing plenty others are too.

[SmokingJacket]

34. I would argue that a suicide is NEVER just a suicide.

One word on a page isn't necessarily a conspiracy; you're right.

But what he did was an action full of meaning. He did it for a reason -- a reason we may have no way of knowing, but it wasn't just a random event. It was the culmination of his life's work -- it was his last act.

I have no idea what to make of it, and it may not be any of my business, anyway.

But something about the whole story is very, very odd.

[two gun sid]

35. Well, I don't know how odd it is...

people commit suicide everyday for various reasons. I don't think he left us any message to ponder. I think he ended his life when he decided he no longer wanted to live. I hope he rests in peace and his family is able to come to terms with this tragedy.

[RoyGBiv]

18. How do you know this? n/t

[BuyingThyme]

26. It always seemed to me that that page was

significant. I thought most people saw it that way.

Perhaps I'm wrong.

See #23

[RoyGBiv]

29. I would like it to be true ...

Which is the main reason I think it isn't.

I love puzzles, which is one of the main reasons I love studying history. History is full of puzzles exactly like this one. What did so-and-so mean when they wrote this? You can construct a dozen theories about it, all of them plausible, but none of them definitely true. And when all is said and done, the simplest answer is usually the only one that makes complete sense.

I guess the problem here is that there isn't a "simplest" answer other than "random typing," which is not satisfying. The centering could mean something, but then again writers often take up habits like this. I occasionally write a stream-of-consciousness sentence or fragment on a piece of paper, centered, print it, and stare at it trying to figure out what it going on in my subconscious. The words themselves mean nothing overt, and the location is merely habit.

I loved Hunter's words. His death has hit me very hard. I want there to be more, again, this being the reason I am inclined to believe there simply isn't any more.

[BuyingThyme]

32. I really don't have a position on it.

But ever since he left us, and ever since I read that first thread, I've been thinking about that page. I've come to the conclusion, right or wrong, that he wanted people to think about it.

[RoyGBiv]

33. In summary ...

You're definitely right about one thing. He wanted people to think.

[Heidi]

28. Maybe he wanted . . .

his family to read it and think about it, or more likely, his wife, who I've heard read and discussed HST's work with him as he was completing it.

[Benno]

27. As to why he killed himself

I don't know if you read the recent Rolling Stone issue dedicated to him, but it seems a few thought that his suicide was mostly related to his health. Living the type of lifestyle that he did and having to use a wheelchair for assistance among other issues may have driven him to commit suicide. Obviously I don't know, and maybe only his family knows what the reason(s) were, but nevertheless he was a great writer and I think HST will be talked about for generations to come.

[TrustingDog]

2. clues on RO

but what's an RO?

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

22. Reverse osmosis?

[TrustingDog]

25. Rove's Oriface?

you look first. :)

[Wind Dancer]

4. I think HT chose to leave this world on HIS terms.

[teach1st]

6. Sun cooler?

Or no clues. Soon cruel loon curse. Cool nurse.

[bush_is_wacko]

7. Do you think you could hunt down a link to this story? I never heard it!

But I am curious. No opinion for the poll though. HST was an enigma and will always be one!

[BuyingThyme]

9. What story?

The anagram was a DU thing.

The "counselor" story is everywhere.

[RoyGBiv]

11. Here's one ...

They all say pretty much the same thing, and there're everywhere.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2003333

[BuyingThyme]

15. Here's the original thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3208966

[bush_is_wacko]

20. Thanks for both the link and the original thread link! n/t

[RoyGBiv]

12. Nope ...

HST was many things, but he was not cryptic. If he had something to say, he would have said it, but I suspect he had said all he intended to say.

[BuyingThyme]

13. What did he say

when he said "counselor"?

[RoyGBiv]

17. Lawyer?

Who knows. It's an incomplete thought to anyone not him. Considering the stationary on which it was written, I'm inclined to believe he may have been considering writing something to or about a lawyer involved with protecting the victims of illegal searches and seizures.

The compulsion to find meaning in tidbits such as this is understandable, but it rarely leads anywhere. I have a piece of paper sitting on my desk right now with a lot of markings on it that, to anyone not me, might look like some sort of cryptic code. If I were to die tonight, especially if I were famous or if my death were to come about amidst extreme circumstances, I'm sure someone would construct a theory about it. Were it not for this post, no one would ever know that the symbols and half-words are pieces of my thoughts written to help me remember a directory structure and certain commands for a Linux based computer system.

[BuyingThyme]

23. I understand what you're saying, but

I think he left that page for us to ponder. He killed himself while sitting in front of his typewriter, in front of that page.

[RoyGBiv]

24. I understand what you're saying too ...

But. :-)

Why? Why would HST, of all people, purposely leave us one word to ponder? It's just not his style, imo.

[Catherine Vincent]

30. Look at this anagram of:

The writer of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', Hunter Stockton Thompson

Splatter! (Another known gun fanatic to the grave....shot himself indoors).

Weird, isn't it?

I found it on www.anagramgenius.com by (by David Bourke using Anagram Genius) (2005)

[BuyingThyme]

31. Hi there cat_girl25!

Somebody must have worked hard to come up with that.

The "splatter" bit is kinda pushing it.