Hunter Thompson's family gathered around his body drinking Chivas

[quaoar]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3575306,00.html

'Loving' farewell to writer
Wife details family gathering with Thompson dead in chair

By Jeff Kass, © 2005, Rocky Mountain News
February 25, 2005

ASPEN — Hunter S. Thompson heard the ice clinking.

The literary champ was sitting in his command post kitchen chair, a piece of blank paper in his favorite typewriter, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier.

But a small circle of family and friends gathered around with stories, as he wished, with glasses full of his favored elixir — Chivas Regal on ice.

"It was very loving. It was not a panic, or ugly, or freaky," Thompson's wife, Anita Thompson, said Thursday night in her first spoken comments since the icon's death Sunday. "It was just like Hunter wanted. He was in control here."

[aquart]

1. Sitting with the back of his head blown off?

I'm sorry, Mrs. Thompson, but "freaky" is exactly what it was.

[Warpy]

3. Depends on your viewpoint

The Irish were famous for sitting up with the corpse all night, making sure the "divvil" wouldn't run off with its soul. Alcohol and stories were a big part of it. Local tribal people insist on taking their families home, generally wrapped in a blanket, to be washed and laid out at home before disposal according to tribal custom.

Perhaps Thompson's family just didn't have that "ick" factor surrounding death that so many Americans do.

I do know that when my mother died (and "natural" death is ugly, too), I sent my dad in to sit with her until the funeral home folks came, since it was going to be his last chance before she got cremated. He was weirded out at the time; he's been grateful since.

Weird is hustling people off to be tortured in an ICU when all hope is gone, whisked off by a funeral home, embalmed, and painted and puttied together to look "lifelike." My Irish granny got that treatment when I was seven; my mother's comment was "Jesus Mary and Joseph, she looks like a streetwalker!"

Dead I can deal with. The denial of it is something else.

[quaoar]

4. When I go

I want to be embalmed with multi-colored chemicals, loaded into the cargo bay of the shuttle and ejected into orbit. When my orbit decays (no pun intended) I will burn up in the atmosphere as a streak of red, green and blue against the night sky while my friends and family toast me with a glass of fine port.

[me b zola]

8. Yes. A wake.

eom

[lavenderdiva]

2. This is kinda weird...

especially since the article states that HST's son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were there when he shot himself. What if that grandson had been witness to a messy scene? She states the scene wasn't that gruesome, but my goodness, (the article doesn't state how old this child is) was this grandchild part of the 'family' that was around the body for hours? What effect would this have? I mean its not like he died in his sleep. There had to be a scene of some sort because of the way he chose to die. Guess I just don't get this.... :shrug:

[SteveG]

5. It's called a Wake

The Irish and other cultures do it. You have a party for the deceased, in the presence of the deceased. My background is Welsh, Scot and German -- the custom in our family is that there will be a Celebration (and as my Eldest requested before he passed - there will be beer) of that person's life. We cremate in our family, and the memorial and wake are held in the presence of the Ashes. This is the way I hope I get remembered and have my life celebrated when I pass. It is a good thing.

[NVMojo]

6. of course it's a wake but the part about the back of his head being

blown off is freaking bizarre. I couldn't keep food or drink down standing near something like that ...

[SteveG]

7. I agree,

but, I specified that our custom is to have our dead cremated before the party.... but the ritual is basically the same, to each their own.

[quaoar]

9. Wakes are fine

But I don't think I could stand there with someone's blown-off head -- not even if I consuming all the drugs in the trunk of the good doctor's car.

[zulchzulu]

10. Hunter did have quite a large hat collection

I'm hoping they had the decency to put a hat on his blown-out head and covering some of the brain matter that must have gone down his back...a gunshot to the head through the mouth is particularly messy and violent.

RIP Hunter.

[MNAZ]

11. Very weird.

[MNAZ]

12. I just read the article...

His grandson was in the house when he shot himself???? Talk about not caring for anyone but yourself!! That kid will be scared for life.

[madison2000]

13. Maybe the grandson is an adult

[MNAZ]

14. g'son is 6 years old.