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Sipping a cosmopolitan in a black shirt and linen pants, a massive wedding ring adorning her left finger, the 36-year-old Anita Thompson hardly looks like a widow.
But, when her husband, writer and gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide in their Woody Creek home two years ago, she dedicated herself to keeping his legacy alive.
She was in Denver this summer promoting her book, “The Gonzo Way,” a commemoration of Hunter’s spirit for life. The book isn’t about the dope-fiend lifestyle that created Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Rather, it’s about Hunter Thompson’s spirit and passion, outlining for readers seven lessons on how to live your life “gonzo.”
Living life “gonzo” doesn’t mean consuming quantities of drugs and alcohol, like Hunter did: Anita describes living with him as “living with a teenage girl trapped in the body of an elderly dope feind.” Rather, gonzo is the energy and passion that Hunter dedicated to his work, his complete immersion with his subject matter so much that he was no longer distinguishable from it.
In an interview at the Denver Press Club this August, Anita Thompson stressed the importance of Hunter’s message of participation in our country, especially the potential and responsibility of young people to engage.
She even agreed to interview with three local college papers, to prove her point that young people, acting together, have more influence than she ever will.
“Hunter’s point was that you aren’t powerless if we all come together. It has to be we, we, we, we,” she said. “Young people have the vitality and the courage that you often lose when you get older. Young people can bounce.”
So, what should we do?
“Vote. He was disappointed in the 70s when not enough young voters turned out,” she said. “He said in 2004 that ‘the young bastards failed us again.’ But he didn’t say it out of anger, he said it out of love, that they could have [voted], and that they have it in their hearts to do it.”
Why should we all be like Hunter?
“All of us have an inner child, a sense of fun and freedom in us, and if you’re not careful, that can be dulled down or repressed. Hunter didn’t let that happen, and he inspired that in all of us,” Anita said.
“He reminded us that we we’re all young at heart.”
What next?
Anita Thompson will continue to work to ensure Hunter’s message will not soon be forgotten, and will continue to do what she loves most: talking about Hunter.
“Venus orbits around the sun. You take the sun away, what’s Venus going to do? It’s going to continue to orbit.”
When she isn’t working toward a degree in American Studies at Columbia University in New York City, Anita Thompson lives on Owl Farm, the home she and Hunter shared in Woody Creek, near Aspen. She plans to return to Colorado after she completes her degree.
But, until then, “I’m honored to be Hunter S. Thompson’s wife,” she said. “He promised me 10 years, so I feel like I’m still married to him, and that I’m still doing my job. I’m proud to be working for Hunter still.”
