The Founders Show #475

Listen to The Founders Show Sunday mornings at 8am on News Talk 99.5 WRNO in New Orleans.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Bite holes, the politicians dressed todigitators and magicians troops to see the money.
Then you don't, there's nothing tofeel the holes while then fell in
their pockets, bite holes, theboliticians bouncing down the road. Everybody's wishoot

(00:28):
the no more corruption and dysfunction.It's gonna take divide deven Shaw one day,
January eighteenth override session makes it looklike Governor John Bell Edwards was thrashed
in his vetoes of the three chancegender Bells, but actually it shows his
relative power outside of those issues.And before that, folks, we turned

(00:51):
to the city of Louisville into thelast eventual Gonzo Fest, and how New
Orleans and Louisville helped frame the greatauthor Hunter S. Thompson, perhaps our
new Mark Twain. All this andmore in this edition of The Founder Show,
and God bless all out there.You are now listening to the founders.
So the voice of the founding fathers, your founding fathers, coming to

(01:12):
you deep within the bowels of thosemystic and cryptic alligator swamps of the Big
Easy, that old Crescent City,New Orleans, Louisiana, and high up
on top of that old Liverty CypressTree way out on the Eagles Branch.
This is none other than your SpengaryBaba of the Republic, Chaplain High mcgenry,

(01:33):
who with Christopher Tidmore, you're Rovinga reporter, resident radical moderate and
associate editor of the Louisiana Weekly newspaperat Louisiana Weekly dot net. But High,
as you know, I also doanother podcast. It's called Hunter Gatherers,
the Story of the podcast of HunterS. Thompson's stories, and we
have a special guest joining us fromLouisville, Kentucky. In fact, yours

(01:55):
truly was in Louisville for the tapingof the pod cast for the last eight
days. We covered some incredible peopleincluding Ron Whitehead, the Beat poet laureate,
Margaret Harrell, the editor and museof Hunter S. Thompson, his
Geldorf, to Hemingway, his Zelda, to Fitzgerald, and several others who
participated in the conference. But ourmost interesting interview came from Annie or Lenian

(02:22):
Professor T. R. Johnson ofTulane University, who talked about how New
Orleans and Louisville kind of framed HunterS. Thompson and I wanted to give
a glimpse of these podcasts that areavailable at Hunter dash gatherers dot com.
To listen about the whole tenth andsay as they say, some say final
Gonzo Fest, but with no furtherado, Let's go to Louisville, Kentucky

(02:44):
and to Curtis Robinson. Hello,and welcome to Huntergethers, the podcast of
Hunter S. Thompson Stories. Weare coming to you live from Gonzo Fest
and Louisville, Kentucky, and theregular listeners will know that we've promised this
is our fiftieth show, and whenwe began, a good friend and mentor
said that I should not judge myselfuntil the fiftieth episode. Then I'd be

(03:06):
okay. So this is episode fortynine of multiple parts series, So listen
closely. Somewhere in here I getgood and I can't wait because it's been
jone as you know, tedious.We're here on reversing roles a bit.
I'm going to welcome Christopher two More, my co host and producer, because
he is going to introduce the firstguest from Gonzo Fest. And I can

(03:29):
honestly say, Curtis Robinson and Itraveled all the way to Louisville for me
in New orleanans to have somebody fromNew Orleans. Yeah, in fact,
not just any somebody. But youlet admit I've done pretty well. I've
only mentioned it seven times. TR. Johnson is quite literally the guru
on New Orleans literary history. Thatis the name of his most recent foot

(03:50):
because also New Orleans Writers City andother comments. So it's a man who
understands literary history is here speaking aboutone of his idols who he knew and
of course Curtis knew very well,and that's Undress Thompson. Hence why we're
at the tenth and so they tellme final Gonzo Fest. Well, we'll
actually find that out in the nextcouple of parts of this episode. But

(04:11):
tr you came up on stage andyou talked about and the first panel here
at Gonzo festor and Louver about HunterS. Thompson as more than just a
writer, as more than just evena literary figure, as a character of
the literary history in America that helpedcreate our American methoughts. Can you talk
about that? I'd be happy toyou. Yeah, it's you know,

(04:31):
I've not participated in Gonzo Fest before. So I'm so happy to be squeezing
into the last one, and it'sso grateful to be a part of this
and to have a chance to kindof work out a few thoughts about him.
And yeah, that's a point Imade during that panel that maybe I
can enlarge upon a little bit,is that as fabulous, brilliant a writer
as Hunters so often was, andand and you know, piercing into just

(04:51):
true poetic vision, it seems tome on many many occasions, and why
we'd love him so much, there'sa broader achievement here that I think we're
only beginning to kind of comprehend,And at least me, I'm only I'm
only now beginning to comprehend. Itis that Hunter turned himself into a character
in American literature, and it wassomething that it takes great courage and great

(05:13):
risk to live the way he didas a kind of master of the art
of provocation, forcing people to reactto him and then playing with their reaction
or not in one way or another, and basically leaving an indelible imprint on
everybody he got anywhere near, justover and over and over again, decade
after decade after decade. It's anincredibly brave thing to do. It's an
incredibly risky thing to do. Youcan imagine it could have gone sideways badly

(05:38):
any number of times. You know, one can imagine what you know.
There's guns, there's drugs, there'strouble, and he lived that very high
risk way, and in so doingbecame a kind of permanent part of the
is it character in the American imaginationnow that will be with us forever.

(05:58):
I think he's ultimately gonna, youknow, as iconic and legendary as like
Rip van Winkle or Edgar Allan Poeor Harry Houdini. He's a permanent part
of the cultural landscape of the UnitedStates, and a permanent part of is
one of the fixtures through which weimagine who we are. That's on top
of what he achieved as a writer. He's just an inhabit of the world

(06:19):
and lived his life in a waythat is out of all proportion to any
single living human being could imagine being. It was a kind of theater that
he was a master of and carriedout forty forty plus years. We told

(06:39):
you we're coming to your law fromGonzo fast and that last breaking is not
a sound effect exactly. That wasthe ghost of Hunter that was impot coming
in. For those just joining us, we are joined by Tulane professor T.
R. Johnson. He's talking aboutHunter S. Thompson and the formation
of his character here in Louisville andNew Orleans. And we're doing this as

(07:00):
a special outreach with the Hunter DashGatherers dot com podcast where we're celebrating our
fiftieth show in partnership with the FoundersShow and tr But that actually is kind
of an interesting thing. So somany people at this at Gonzo Fester comparing
Hunter as one of the legends,and you were Chartis You and I were
talking yesterday about the fact that ina hundred years, people will know who

(07:24):
Hunter S. Thompson is in away that other authors are forgotten. I'm
curious. I always compared Hunter beingthe literary geek that I am to like,
someone that belong the lines of AmbroseBeers, who was huge in his
time, but more and more basedon what I'm hearing, and I say
this with great love, is thelove of Hunters rugging is he or is

(07:46):
he our modern Mark Twain? Wow, that's a great question. And I
think that he may be. Ithink that there's a let me speak to
it in a couple of ways.I think of Hunter increasingly very much like
Mark Twain, who gave us huckFinn, as a product of a certain
kind of rivertown. That is tosay, river towns like Louisville, like

(08:07):
New Orleans are places where there's sortof a historically kind of a transent population,
young men floating in and out,and young men who are untethered are
going to be inclined to drink andgamble and carry on and so on and
so on. Hunter is a productof a rivertown in every way, from
the you know, the kind ofdevil may care, semi criminality that hovers

(08:28):
around him all the time, thepartying, the footloose, adrift kind of
vibe. Is feels like Huckleberry Finntransposed into the latter half of the twentieth
century to me, in that sense, there's the twin connection. Also,
the sardonic wit that is a trademarkof Twain is Hunter's stock in trade in
a deep way. And the youknow, there's a famous Mark Twain line

(08:52):
he says, you know, Inever let my schooling get in the way
of my education and Hunter is thatperson completely a very une easy relationship to
say, academics who are in chargeof sort of preserving the past and cultivating
a cannon in one way or anotheror debating it and so on, and
Hunter, I feel. I teachAmerican Lit courses from time to time,

(09:13):
in fact a lot of a lotof times and university and I have not
yet quite managed to put Hunter onmy syllabus for American LID. I've wanted
to, but in a rush ofgetting that class together, I haven't quite
figured out how to find the rightpiece to put in. Besidesly because he
is a vexing, sort of troublingfigure to a lot of contemporary cultural concerns.

(09:35):
He's a gun nut and we're livingin a time where we got a
gun problem, We're living in atime where there's a horrific opioid crisis,
and he's a drug enthusiast. There'salso a pretty rough and tumble language around
race. At least, it doesn'tsquare with the kind of proprietor, you
know, the kinds of ways Englishdepartments want to speak about these things.

(09:56):
And so it's it's difficult to doHunter in an English department you know,
and preserve and advanced the reputation thatway. But he's so powerful and so
extraordinary through events like this that insome ways he doesn't really need university seals
of approval to be kind of keptin circulation because he did it himself.

(10:16):
You know. He kind of madehis own way, you know, didn't
really go to college and made hisown path independent of institutions in a way
that in some ways fulfills kind ofsome of the highest American fantasies of freedom
of being outside institutions, outside thekind of correct and proper, well mannered
ways of comporting ourselves around great literature, capital g capital else. He was.

(10:41):
He was a true wild man andan American original in ways that we
can't help but sort of treasure andlove even as vexing as it is visa
ve kind of modern manners in intellectuallife. For those just joining us,
we are joined by two Lane professorT. R. Johnson. He's talking
about Hunter S. Thompson and theformation of his character here in Louisville and

(11:05):
New Orleans. And we're doing thisas a special outreach with the Hunter dash
Gatherers dot Com podcast, where we'recelebrating our fiftieth show in partnership with the
Founders show Curtis Robinson. Your thoughts, Well, you know it's interesting from
the stage you you for to him, I think at one point as a
performance artist. Yeah, I thought, I think that's interesting because there's always

(11:26):
this discussion did the persona take himover? And I'm like, persona is
one that that is one way oflooking at it, at the persona,
but I always thought it was thecharacter itself. It was interesting. I
was. I was with Hunter onthe phone when he was when I would
hang out there, and you know, I remember a conversation with Marilyn Manson.
Um, Marilyn Manson did not considerhimself a rock and roll artist.

(11:50):
He considered himself a performance artist.And I can remember a conversation quite literally
of Oddvillian. That's how he describedthis. Yes, and so after that
we that was always the thing oflike are they coming to to talk to
me or they're coming to talk tothat. I said, well, you
know when you published Fear and Loathingin Las Vegas as Raoul Duke initially,

(12:16):
and you're kind of been about thatkind of thing, don't you. And
I think he was interested in that, but it's interesting to persona versus persona
is such a negative kind of terminalperformance artist just isn't right, right,
And I think it's so interesting.You know, I would assume that Hunter
would have been very intrigued by MarilynManson because I think that there's a way
which, as you know, MarilynManson has a very kind of shocking performance

(12:37):
artist is in some ways dipping intothe same channels that Hunter, in a
different kinds of ways was inhabiting.A shocker, a kind of a person
who unsettles things simply by his presence. And it's fascinating thinking back to Mark
Twain from it, we mean MarilynManson, the singer, Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, Marilyn Manson,right, right, and not other

(13:00):
no exactly, I hope, Ihope we'd make that clear for sure.
Um. But thinking about the connectionto Twain again, I know that Twain
was frequently sort of on the road, giving like talks and lectures before public
audiences, um and um. Hunter. You know, that was a income
stream off and on through the yearsfor the same reason they were broke.

(13:22):
You know, Twain lost all themoney trying to u create a printing us.
He created a publishing company and thengave Ulysses S Grant the greatest deal
in the history of time, somuch deal that he lost everything he owed,
right, Yeah, so it wouldnever be heard from him again,
except I thought about him a lotwhen uh, you know you, when

(13:43):
Literard Cohen lost all his money andhad to go on the road. I'm
like, he's he's doing a MarkTwain here. So it's pretty good.
Uh yeah, but but you know, it's it's interesting also that when you
talk about the the difficulties, thecultural difficulties of adding Hunter Thompson to to
your class, could you read,uh, could you read Huck Finn aloud

(14:05):
today for yourself in front of yourclass? Yeah? Um, you know,
there is the very very singular andparticular concern. I think that it
will rush down their twain. Wemean, the the particular character U name.
Well, I'll just say in wordfor those of you who are are
the inward jim right right, um. And I find that, um,

(14:31):
my personal take on that is thatobviously we have to be endlessly careful with
our language and the and the waysthat that particular word is indecolubly linked with
bloody violence and terrorism. And thatwe need to honor the truth. That
that's how it will land in theears of many of our students. And
that said, you know, thatword shows up in Faulkner and I teach

(14:54):
absalam absalam quite a bit, agood point and that and that word is
in there a bunch, but it'salways come from the mouth or a particular
character, as supposed the author himself, and that that's how it was absolute
or the name of a character,major character in the book. And so
typically I think when people tea ChuckFan they say slave jim Um and they
would actually change that. You think, well, that's what that's what we're

(15:16):
doing now. I think so.I think so. But that's it's tricky
and uncomfortable. But I think thatI have not found a way to finesse
the ways Hunter is uh. Ijust need to spend honestly, I just
need more time. I'm sure Ican find a piece. For those just
joining us. We are joined byTulane Professor T. R. Johnson.

(15:37):
He's talking about Hunter S. Thompsonand the formation of his character here in
Louisville and New Orleans. And we'redoing this as a special outreach with the
Hunter dash gatherers dot Com podcast,where we're celebrating our fiftieth show in partnership
with the founders show Curtis Robinson,Is, Jordan cry McHenry, and Christopher
Tidmore. In the conversation here inLouisville, Curtis someone I used to try

(16:00):
to help edit Hunter's work, andit's it's deceptive because you can change one
word, and I mean a tinyword, and the entire paragraph and page
and chapter just falls apart. It'sso interesting the dynamic the example always gives.
Any of us can might think upto describe someone as having the loyalty
one would expect from a snake,but Hunter said he has the loyalty of

(16:22):
a rented snake. And it's justthe world of difference, isn't it.
Yeah, it's a little difference.Yeah. I do want to ask one
quick question because I always think Ithink that the Mark Twain as the answer,
mainly because Mark Twain was a newspaperreporter. Yes, and so both
Curtis and I are refugees from journalism. I still commit acts of journalism from

(16:44):
time to time. He manages toavoid it until it's really big, and
then he does it as well,that aspect came to it, but it
was also the serialization of story,right. And the other comparison I always
make of Hunter is Charles Dickens.Now people are people will say Charles Dickens,
he's a fiction writer. Hunters notwrite fiction. Both of them are
creating characters that are speaking from theirown experience, right, David Copperfield is

(17:10):
Charles Dickens. I mean in somany different ways. Rale Duke is that.
And they're both performing on stage,and they're both creating characters that of
themselves almost caricatures to sell them andthey're both touring the West and they're both
going to I think that that That'swhy I was so intrigued by the way
you put it to R. Johnsonabout the concept of Hunter creating this caricature

(17:30):
of himself, to say, becausesome of the greatest authors really did that.
They were performers and frustrated actors.Dickens was a frustrated actor. Twain
for most part was Hunter. Thompsondefinitely. Yeah, you know, so
it's a great point, and Ithink you know, thinking of Dickens too
in these terms. It's the doingportraits of society, you know, looking

(17:52):
trying to sort of capture the truthof a society that was absolutely kind of
Hunters sort of self assignment in theVegas book and through out of his journey,
throughout his journalism, it seems tome, and and that you know,
building, you know, characters,particularly out of themselves, of themselves
as a way of getting at somedeep truth about society. One of my
favorite Hunter lines is I'm a Roadmanfor the Lords of Karma, which just

(18:14):
came kind of late, one ofthe last of his real gems, it
seems to me. But he's outthere a roadman, a roadie, running
around the West and college campuses,of stirring up trouble and sort of trusting
the fates will all allow things toplay out in a way that rewards the
good and punishes the evil. Andthat he was doing the very dangerous,
high risk work of throwing himself kindof over the waterfall into the realm of

(18:37):
consequence, or as he calls it, the place of definitions, hits the
road, you know, and speakingof the visits are particularly like the college
campuses. Could could Hunter, Imean, he beard on campuses dozens of
times the students could could? Youwill Cutter Thompson onto that campus through today,
probably probably because his reputation as anartist and as a reporter are substantial

(19:03):
enough, and his literary achievement iswidely embraced enough that he is not someone
who is speaking on behalf of valuesthat are antithetical to a liberal arts college,
you know, a liberal arts education. Let's say he is not advocating
race hatred, he is not advocatinggun violence, things like that, and

(19:23):
therefore I think that there would beroom for him now, you know,
in some campuses it's such a youknow, booking speakers is a real hot
button issue in a flash point forall kinds of protests and descent. But
I think that Hunter Hunter's charm andlargeheartedness ultimately and his wide open sort of
americanness, a kind of whitman likeembrace of multitudes, and an easygoing readiness

(19:48):
to engage anybody, would make himI think welcome, even if certain questions
of you know, again, I'mthinking of guns and I'm thinking of drugs
people are kind of in the postcolumn by an era, and in the
opioid era, people are less enthusiasticabout that stuff than they were a generation
ago. And but not I don'tthink he's in a place where he is
on the wrong side of an argumentat all. I can't see Hunter being

(20:14):
vilified for his politics by anyone inhigher education. He's an advocate of He's
I guess you could say a libertarianand a kind of Darwinian in a sense.
He might he might say, aroad man for the lords of Karma.
But I don't see him as beingsomeone who is in any way an
enemy of the values of a liberalarts education. We've been speaking about Hunter

(20:36):
S. Thompson, the author ofFear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear
and Loathing Campaign Trail seventy two andmany other works, sort of the speaker
of the late sixties early seventies generationand his impact on people across the country,
but how Louisville and New Orleans impactedhim with Tulane Professor T. R.
Johnson, and we're live at Louisville, Kentucky's Gonzo Fest, the tenth

(21:00):
last Gonzo Fest. We're putting thison. It's normally this is a podcast
that runs on Hunter dash gatherers dotcom, but in partnership with the founders
show Hi mckennery and Christopher didmore.We're joined by Curtis Robinson talking about you
know, this wonderful series and it'songoing series that we're having on the Gonzo
Fest that includes some major figures inHunter S. Thompson's Live Checkmount Hunter Dash

(21:22):
Gatherers dot Com. Well, let'sget back to the conversation, going back
to your point about the river cityaspect, and of course you think I'm
thinking Twain and the idea he grewup, you know, in Missouri.
He's right on the river. Louisvilleis kind of a very similar type of
experience, but it also has somethingand I have to you know, since
you literally wrote the book The LiteraryHistory of New Orleans, Hunter Love New

(21:45):
Orleans. In fact, Curtis waswith him just a couple of weeks before
he's died in New Orleans. Thequestion that I get is New Orleans Louisville
have something in common that I eventhough I've been here before, I never
really thought about it until the lastfew days. They're both Southern cities that
aren't quite Southern exactly. Yeah,they're they're both on the edges, they're

(22:07):
both they're both influenced with a coreFrench history, but they both had a
lot of people coming through, andin some ways that kind of port yet
connection kind of explains Hunter Thompson insome ways, I think. So I've
come to that just you know,it took it took years of living in
New Orleans before I could quite understandthat aspect of Hunter. But I think
it makes great sense that Louisville inNew Orleans. I tell people I grew

(22:30):
up, in fact, not farfrom where we're sitting right now. I
remember this building vividly from my childhoodand youth, and I lived here towb
was actually in my early thirties.So I have a lot of Louisville in
me. But what it shares withNew Orleans obviously Rivertown, a lot of
immigrants, a lot of Catholics,and like Rivertowns, they are kind of
friendly to vice, and so Louisvilleobviously the whiskey and cigarettes and gambling on

(22:56):
horses. This growing up here wasa a perfect sort of preparation for a
very happy life in New Orleans thatI've come to happy. You know,
it was just moved to the biglad. It was the natural next step,
and I'm not at all surprised tohear that Hunter reacted so possibly to
New Orleans. Some friends of minebumped into him just shortly before he died

(23:17):
at the Circle Bar in what isnow called Harmony Circle in those days Least
Circle. And he was gracious andfaun and a very cool guy, and
we lost him just very soon thereafter. I had heard a rumor that that
Hunter had been talking a lot aboutwanting to move to New Orleans and live
in New Orleans, and it wassomething he regretted that he had never lived
there for an extended period because hefelt like there was great subject matter for

(23:40):
him there. As a Louisville guy, he was gonna take to it like
a duck to water, so tospeak. And he certainly had things to
say about Miami and things to sayabout Las Vegas. But I think that
New Orleans was probably a missed opportunityfor him, and in fact, from
what I understand, it was somethinghe explicitly had said that he regretted not
having made time to kind of swoopin there and do do several years,

(24:02):
um, you know, getting inthere, because it is a it's a
it's a writer's city, as thetitle of New Orleans a writer's city as
the title of my new book.He would have it wasn't avail about Gardenership
Bookshop for anybody once at gardener ShipBookshop dot com. Oh nice, nice.
You know you can say where you'regonna jump in. I say it
does, go for it. Yeah. But I think he would have been
um. He would have found alot to do there, and a lot

(24:25):
to think about, and a lotto talk about. And it might it
might have been a kind of challengingenvironment in certain ways. I remember one
year he tried to go to jazzFest and was grumpy that they wouldn't let
him come in with his three fiftyseven magnum And they did what they said,
Well, I can't come in withmy without my gun, I'm not
coming in. And that, youknow, he may have I could.
I dare say that he would havemet his match in New Orleans, Louisiana.

(24:47):
Certainly it would have been a subjectthat he would have found a lot
to do with, you know,pirate culture and the and the the the
sort of sportsman's life in the swamps, and and and the gun coach in
Louisiana, he would have taken toimmediately the gambling culture around the sport of
the casino culture. It's a Vegason the Bayou. And then just as
a Louisville guy, I think hewould have been veristed in this idea of

(25:08):
an urban center in the South thatis not purely and simply Southern, but
kind of book at Louisville and NewOrleans, as you say, kind of
bookends of the South, kind ofthe edges of the South that are not
purely and simply Southern in the waythat let's say Jack's, Mississippi is or
Birmingham, Alabama maybe an example.So it's a it's a cosmopolitan and complicated

(25:32):
place in a way, Catholic placesin some ways that most of the South
isn't thought of. So he wouldhave found a lot to connect with and
respond to and sort out, we'llhave to say, in defensive Birmingham,
Alabama. He did also love Birmingham. Did he really love there? He
wrote a piece about a way todie, going naked off of Red Mountain

(25:52):
in Birmingham, if you if you'regonna look it up, it's a great,
great pace. But the reason is, I've once lived in Birmingham,
always complained that when I went fromBirmingham, Baman moved town Los Angeles.
One of the one of the problemswas that Birmingham was a twenty four hour
city, right, and Los Angelesis not. Okay. Yeah, also
it was so I used to lamentfor Birmingham. But I take your point

(26:12):
that Birmingham is certainly a southern city. It is not. It's not on
the bubble at all. But uh, he did love that, and I
think the car that he mentioned wasactually his Jaguar. But I digress.
That's the problem with Hunter Thompson's stories, is there there are yes, there
are head for those just joining usin special partnership with The Founders Show,

(26:33):
We're broadcasting from Louisville, Kentucky atGonzo Fest, joined by Tulane professor T.
R. Johnson and Curtis Robinson,Hi mckenry, and Christopher tipmore on
The Founders Show here in W Rand L and w s LA. But
ladies and gentlemen, this particular broadcastof The Founders Show is also in joint
partnership with Hunter Gatherers Hunter Dash gatherersdot com. That's Hunter Dash Gatherers dot

(26:56):
com, which is the podcast ofHunter S. Thompson Stories. This interview
that you're hearing with R. Johnson, plus a myriad. Eight other interviews
in over fifty seven shows are availablethat the eight other interviews are from the
Gonzo Fest here in Louisville, andwe encourage you to go to Hunter Dash
Gatherers dot com. I do haveto ask because we are at the tenth

(27:17):
and I'm told by Ron White finalGonzo Fest. But I think mister White
at both protest too much. Butthat's just me having debates over that.
And we've had a couple of peoplecome to us and say, if Ron
won't do it in Louisville, whatare you doing? So you know what?
But I am curious because you broughtthe first panel at the Gonzo Fest

(27:37):
was about the ninety six gathering.Yeah, and I'm looking at Curtis.
You have a hat that you're wearingright now. If I'm not mistaken,
you're the one person who wasn't atthis ninety six gathering, but you have
I was not a hunter as Thompsonwent to Landmark Milestone Reunion and all I
got was this Kentucky cap. ButI do still have the Kentucky cap.

(28:00):
This was literally a gift he broughtback because I couldn't come. Oh man,
that's fabulous. Well, I don'tcare. I'm curious about that event
because I knew about it. Iknew he came home, I knew the
tribute. I'd heard a lot ofJohnny Depp stories about that gathering. I
knew we've we've done a couple ofepisodes. What I didn't understand, really,
I had a vague notion that Ididn't really understand was how influenced it

(28:25):
was to other authors, other events, and to the city so much.
Because let's let's just get into andRon is going to join us in the
next episode and talk about this,Louisville didn't really embrace Hunter, and I
would already still has it, reallyhas. That was the first moment,
that's we'll talk about the emulance wherethey basically the mayor comes out and renames

(28:45):
it Hunter's Gonzoville and all this,But more importantly, it's kind of a
seminal transitional moment in nineteen ninety six. That's I saw it from the other
end because I was working for SteveAmbrose at the time, and uh and
Doug was going off to this thing, and we were kind of busy trying
to put together this museum right thistime. So it's but it was it
was this A lot of people whoweren't really aware of Hunter, Yeah,

(29:08):
became aware because can you talk aboutit? I'd be happy to, you
know, one of Hunter's great lines, you know, there's as I was
saying, there's at least two dozensof these kinds of things. One of
Hunter's greatest lines is this, thetruth is never told between nine and five.
And the people who are, youknow, how shall we say the
official power brokers and sort of shapersof civic identity are nine to five people,

(29:33):
And with all due respect to thepower and money that they command,
Hunter represents a different universe and speaksto and from a different universe. As
we say in New Orleans, Hunteris night people, the night manager,
you know. And and so thequestion of a city embracing some figure that
is a native son is a nineto five kind of operation, and Hunter

(29:55):
is one of the is just thekind of person who is is just it's
going to be very hard for themto assimilate and swallow what he was.
It took until nineteen ninety six,and it went off beautifully, that event,
and it's a particularly moving to me, I really loved Juan Thompson's memoir
about growing up as Hunter's son.I was really hoping he would be here

(30:17):
today to meet him, and maybeI'll meet him later in the weekend.
But I'm really admired what he didin that book. It's a beautiful piece
of writing, a beautiful piece ofstorytelling, and very profoundly. He seems
to say that it was at thatevent that he and his father reconciled after
having been, if I understand correctly, almost entirely estranged for about fifteen years,
maybe more. His mother, Juan'smother, Sandy, split with their

(30:42):
son around I want to say,about seventy nine or eighty, and that
he stayed away from his dad fora long time. And that was a
scene of reconciliation. So it wasnot simply Hunters in returning to reconcile with
Louisville and being embraced by Louisville.And it was a father's son's story of
incredible profundity. He had father andson had been, if I understand correctly,

(31:04):
not in touch for more than adecade, and that happened on that
stage in a way that's incredibly moving, you know, yeah, well,
you know, not in touch.But then then the piece that one read
at that I thought was just fantastic, and I think that that moved him
closer in a lot of ways andin terms of words. But you know,

(31:26):
there's nothing better than I just thoughtit was a remarkable piece. And
I think you're you're accurate in thatassessment that. I think the question of
that is, you know how strangethey might have been. I think there
was contacting things. But but certainlyafter that it was a different world.
But I mean it was partly adifferent world because one right, I thought
it was one of the most touchingthings i'd ever i'd ever read. Yeah,

(31:48):
I agree, it was so moving, no incredible tear terms. And
thank you so much for joining uson Hunter Gatherers. It's been I look
forward to interviewing you more about literallyfigures in New Orleans. And we had
to come all the way to Louisvilleto have a New Orleans conversation. So
but thank you so much. Yourbooks are obviously well but my bookstore it

(32:12):
also online and all this he wantsto literary history New Orleans, writer city
and uh and frankly, I thinkyou gave one of the most beautiful tributes
to Hunter Thompson as You've got agreat response and you deserved it. Thanks
areciative very much. We got tohang out New Orleans guys. Sounds like
a plant to do it soon.This has been a special broadcast joint broadcast
with Hunter Dash gatherers dot com.Check out this interview and fifty seven other

(32:37):
ones, including eight from gonzofest herein Louisville at hunter Dash gatherers dot com.
We'll get back to a little bitof Louisiana politics after the break the
end of the Legislative Special Session withHi mckenry and Christopher Tidmore. Remember you
can always hear The Founders Show everySunday from eight to nine am nine five
w RNO every Monday, Wednesday andFriday day on eight to nine am on

(33:01):
WSLA ninety three point nine FM fifteensixty AM twenty four seven three sixty five
At the iHeartMedia app just downloaded freedits better than Pandora, better music choices,
but it also has the Founders Show. Type in the Founder Show Press
follow and you can get high andI coming up each and every week directly
on your cell phone or check usout the old fashioned way www dot The
Founders Show dot com, and ladiesand gentlemen, you can always check out

(33:23):
Hunter Gatherers at www dot Hunter dashGatherers dot com for more stories about the
legendary author Hunter S. Thompson,author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,
Fear and Living on the Campaign Trailseventy two, the definitive book on
the Hell's Angels, and so muchabout the nineteen sixties and seventies and eighties

(33:45):
in our Lexicon of American Literature.More of the Founders Show with the Legislative
session right after these important messages.Stay tuned. There's nothing better than the
gift of flowers and coming up inAugust third, It's Friendship Day Sunday,
August third and flowers go perfectly togetherand Villaris Florist can provide those flowers to

(34:09):
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(34:30):
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and let's remind a good friend whatfriendship is worth It at Villaries Florist and

(34:52):
tell them you heard it here onthe Founder's show. Rescue, Recovery,
re Engagement. These are not justwords. These are the action steps we
at the New Orleans Mission take tomake a positive impact on the homeless problem
facing the greater New Orleans area.Did you know in twenty twenty, homelessness

(35:13):
in our community increased by over fortypercent. We are committed to meet this
need through the work being done atthe New Orleans Mission. We begin the
rescue process by going out to thecommunity every day to bring food, pray,
and share the love of Jesus withthe hopeless and hurting in our community.

(35:35):
Through the process of recovery, theseindividuals have the opportunity to take time
out, assess their life, andbegin to make new decisions to live out
their God given purpose. After thehealing process has begun and lives are back
on track, we walk each individualas they re engage back into the community

(35:55):
to be healthy, thriving, andliving a life of purpose. No one
is meant to live under a bridge. No one should endure abuse, no
one should be stuck in addiction.The New Orleans Mission is a stepping stone
out of that life of destruction andinto a life of hope and purpose.

(36:15):
Partner with us today go to wwwdot New Orleans Mission dot org or make
a difference by texting to seven sevenninety eight and welcome back to the Founder's

(36:37):
Show with Hi mckenry and Christopher Tidmore. Of course, ladies and gentlemen,
we've been in Louisville talking about HunterS. Thompson, but we got to
turn our attention back home to thelegislative session. It was a one day
session July the eighteenth, and whatit's interesting to me high about that session
is not what got done the overridesof the three train gender bills. It

(37:00):
was really never in question but whatdidn't get done? So, Christopher,
what didn't get done? I knowyou've been studying this long and hard.
You guys are remarkable insights. Ican't wait to hear what you understand didn't
get done. Take it away,BROTHERA. Governor John Bell Edwards has received
a lot of criticism in the mediaof late, of being weakened that he

(37:22):
had more vetos overcome than every othergovernor combined since the nineteen seventy four Constitutional
Convention. But what's important is thefact that of the vetos he didn't have
overtone. I'll give you an example. Bill one by Franklin Republican Senator Brett
Elaine cleared both chambers in the legislativesession, with only one lawmaker voting against

(37:45):
in either chamber. It was overwhelminglypopular. What it was going to do
is get rid of the corporate franchisetax, which would immediately raise Louisiana from
thirty nine the thirty second in businessratings. It's a very popular move and
it wouldn't have cost the legislature muchmoney to the state treasury because the corporate
revenues have been locked for over adecade at six hundred million dollars. That's

(38:08):
the most legislature you can spend.Anything extra goes to pay off debt or
goes in the rainy day fund.Well, he wanted to actually use that
to phase out the corporate franchise taxover the next four years, but the
othern vetoed all of those, eventhough they passed overwhelmingly. And that tells
me something. The legislators believe thatGovernor John Bell Edwards will soon be back,

(38:30):
and that is something they're very afraidof. In four years, he's
running again and he will make amendsfor those that oppose him. Your thoughts
high, Well, Well, Christopher, this is indeed getting awfully weird.
Sounds to me like what the returnof Frankenstein or Dracula returns. This is

(38:51):
awfully weird, Christopher. And toquote Hunter S. Thompson, he said,
when the going gets weird, theweird go pro Christopher, is this
happening right now? Well, I'dlike to close this out with a song
that might help us better understand thisquote from Hunter as Thompson, And it's
about a man named Hunter of allthings, which is making this all the

(39:15):
more weird. And by the way, the word weird means supernatural, and
you can always have good supernatural orevil supernatural. The devil would be evil,
God would be good. You canhave supernatural being righteous, so you
can have it being wicked. Solet's hear this song and tell us what
you think about the weirdness of thissong and the weirdness of our day,

(39:36):
and are the weird going political?Here we go. By the way,
this is written by The song wasproduced by Richard Thompson, and so take
off on an old song by HarryChappin. Harry Chappin, I love his
music and in fact, Harry Chappanreminds me a lot of Hunter as Thompson,
which is againting, making this evenall the more weird. So here

(39:59):
we go, folks. Hunter isin the basement. It's starting to break
the charts right now. It's verypopular song. My child called me up
just the other day. He said, Dad, I need some crack.
Can you help me today? AndI had lots of cash but bills to
pay. He said, don't worry, Dad, I'll find another way.

(40:21):
He was smoking for I knew adad the way he flew saying I'm gonna
be like you, Dad. Youknow I'm gonna be like you and Hunters
in the placement with a silver spoon. The hookers and drugs were gonna be
there soon when you're coming home,Dad. I don't know when I'll be

(40:42):
goodn't high by then, Dad,y'a'll be good and high by then,
cooking through the rugs, smoking anythingthat rippy then remotely resembled crack cocaine.
I'm very proud of my SMO.My son came around just the other day.
He said, I got me adeal where we can both get paid.
Can I trade on your name?I said sure, okay, we'll

(41:05):
let anyone. No. He said, no, no way, And as
he walked away, he looked kindof deal and said, I'm gonna be
like him. Yeah, you know, I'm gonna be like him. He's
fixed him. He's worked on it. And Hunters in the basement for the
Silver school. Your crani and ribswere gonna be there soon when you're coming
home, Dad. I don't knowwhen. I'll put us on your tempers

(41:30):
and Dad, I'll always have yourtimpress and what he's doing. I sit
down, I'm fine, said you'renot fine. I know how to game
the system. Come on, comeon, well it came from Kiev just
the other day, had a smileso big. I just had to say
his son, I'm proud of you. How's our cash supply? He nodded

(41:52):
his head and said, great,Big Cabert. Would I really need,
Dad, is to borrow the carkeys. You can take the vet.
But what the box says? Beesand hunters in the basement with a silver
spoon, classified papers all over theroom when you're coming home, Dad,
I don't know when I'm getting goodand higher again, Dad, I'm getting

(42:15):
good and higher again. One aboutthe reason why he regrets it because he
didn't anticipate that the book, likeJulie Harry, you would use it to,
in fact, try to embarrast farthermust they are reflect bugs. Come
on? The guy is a dogwhistle about as big as a farm.
That stool an election that my sonmoved away. I called him up just

(42:37):
the other day. I said,you own some cash? I want my
cut today? He said, gonedown, Dad, you know it's on
the way, but my laptop isgone, and now it's on you.
And now we're both really screwed,Dad, And now we're both gonna be
screwed. And as I hung upthe phone. It occurred to me he

(43:02):
was damned near dumber than me.My boy was dumb as me, and
there was Hunter in the basnic witha silver school. All of our crimes
were coming. I real soon,when's it all in? Sun? I
don't know when Bubba're gonna end upin the pen dead. We're both gonna

(43:23):
be in the pan. I amabsolutely certain certain that at the end of
the investigation that I will be clearedof any bond fling, God save the
Queen man. Well, folks,you heard it here on the on the

(43:44):
Founders show Hunter in the Basement byRichard Thompson. Of course I take off
on Harry Chapin's song The Cats andthe Cradle. Well, folks, I
think it's just getting weird by theday, and this was certainly an exceeding
weird day, with all the variousstrange coincides all coming together making me feel

(44:05):
weird. It is time for usto take a break and we'll be back
with our chaplain. Bye bye,patriotic moment, then followed by the gospel
moment, and then followed by thewatchman on the wall. We'll see you
in just a little bit. It'sChaplahei mckenry, and I'm here to tell

(44:32):
you about our ministry, LAMB Ministries. We are an inter city ministry with
an inner city focus and formula forinter city folks. Please check us out.
Go to our website LAMB NLA dotcom lamb and nola dot com and
find out all about us. Ifyou want to get involved. We need
all the help we can get.We need volunteers, we need prayer warriors,

(44:54):
and we need financial support. Soif you're interested, please get in
touch with us. It's very excitedministry ministry that's done a whole lot of
good helping the urban poor in thiscity. The inter city kids have a
chance in life that right now somany of them do not have. It
makes a huge difference in their lives. So for the past twenty seven years,

(45:17):
we've seen close to five thousand ofthem come to Christ. We've seen
hundreds going to live good, productivelives. We need all the help we
can get, so please get intouch with us. Go to our website
LAMB n o LA dot com,LAMB nola dot com. Will call me
Chaplinhei mckin red ary code five zerofour seven two three nine three six nine

(45:39):
and thank you so very very much. Shows folks with chaplin Hi mckiner,
and we are back and you arelistening to the finals show, and it's

(45:59):
now time for us to go intoour chaplain patriotic moment where just like a
brief moment to remind you of thebiblical foundations of our country. Our Judeo
Christian Jorge for Prudence said, today, I'd like to talk about President John
Adams. He was a signer andeditor of the Decorates of Independence. He
was a judge, he's a diplomat. He's one of the two signs of
the Bill of Rights. He wasthe second president of the United States of

(46:21):
America. He had quite a career, quite an amazing guy. He wrote,
He wrote books, a book backthen that had a heavily influenced the
overall political thinking of this country.And this is what John Adams said when
he was one of his quote withseveral of his quotes, actually and hear
them. They're so well thought out, so well said. He said,

(46:45):
the general principles on which the fathersachieved independence were the principles of Christianity.
I will avow that I then believedand now believe that those general principles of
Christianity are as eternal and immutable asHe exists and attributes of God. He
went on to say, the HolyGhost carries on the whole Christian religion in

(47:06):
this earth. Not a baptism,not a marriage, not as Acraman can
be administered but by the Holy Ghost. There is no authority, civil or
religious that can be There could beno legitimate government, but what is administered
by this precious Holy Ghost. Therecan be no salvation without him. All
without it is rebellion and perdition,or in more orthodox words, damn nation.

(47:30):
Without religion, this world would besomething not fit to be mentioned in
polite company. I mean hell,the Christian religion is above all the religions
that ever prevailed or existed in ancientor modern times, the religion of wisdom,
virtue, equity, and humanity.Folks, I think John Adams want
to make sure we kept God ingovernment. It is shame we've failed at

(47:52):
that. And now look what's happenedin our country. You heard the song
played earlier. Our country is goingso weird, but weird to the dark
side instead of the light side.Well, folks, what about you?
Are you on the dark side ofthe light side. Do you know where
you're going when you die? Youare you sure that you have everlasting life?
Well, I'm just take a briefmoment to show you how you can

(48:13):
know that you know that you knowwhen you die you're going to be safe
from hell and guaranteed heaven. Andit is now time for us to go
into the chaplain b by gospel moment, where again I just take a short
time to show you how you canbe certain you're going to go to heaven.
Folks, you know the Bible saysGod loves you with an everlasting love.
He loved you so much he becamea man so you could be that

(48:35):
close to you, that intimate andwhat was He became his own creation.
He is a creator, and hebecame his own creation by becoming a man.
That man's name is the Lord JesusChrist. He's perfect God, perfect
man, all the way God,all the way Man. God knew we
had a problem we never overcome,and that's sin and eternal damnation, death
to call the second death in theBible. He knows we would never overcome

(48:58):
that. So he decided, wellthey'll never do it. I got to
do it for him, and hedid. When he became a man,
he went to the cross where hedied for all of our sins, all
of your sins from the day you'reborn and the day you die. You
tinius to your greatest sins. Hewas then buried and rose from the dead.
When he died for all your sins. He took care of your first
love problem sin. When Daddy tookcare of your second love problem, death.

(49:22):
He overcame them all to give toyou the free gift of everlasting resurrection
life. To give you the freegift of total absolution for your sins,
where your sins could never be heldagainst you, you would be free.
He came for that, folks.And then he came to make sure you
could go to heaven by giving youhis everlasting resurrection life. And the Bible

(49:45):
says, believe on the Lord JesusChrist, and thou shalt be saved.
All that's required, folks, isto believe that he really did die for
all your sins, was buried androse with the dead because he did believe
it. Now, the scripture says, now today is a day salvation.
Folks. You may not get tomorrow. Don't wait till it's too late.
Believe right now that Jesus died forall your sins, was buried and rose

(50:07):
from the dead. After you believeyou cannot save yourself. That's very important.
That's called repentance. This moment youbelieve you are hopeless and help us
without God, that you can donothing to save yourself. You just repented.
It's in your mind. It's partof your belief system. And the
second part of your belief system isto believe that Jesus died for all your

(50:30):
sins, was burned and roseman dead. Do it now, if you've never
done it before. Don't wait tillit's too late, folks, it's not
time for us to go into thechaplain. Bah bah, watchman on the
wall. We just again take abrief moment to remind you of the coming
events that are right upon us rightnow, Folks screaming in our ears that
the end is here at Jesus's comingback really soon. And here we go,

(50:52):
you know, folks. In Matthewthirteen, at the olive a discourse,
Jesus was giving us all the signsof his His second coming is return
to this earth. And he saidin verse thirteen and the Gospel of the
Kingdom shall be preached in all theworld for a witness into all nations,
and then shall the income. Well, we're really reaching all nations. Do

(51:13):
you realize they are tribal nations outthere, a couple of thousand of them
that have never had the Gospel translatedto their language. They've never heard it.
But do you know, folks,there are foreign mission groups like New
Tribes, mission like Weickly Bible translatorsand other groups who are very busy translating
scripture into the language of these localtribal people. Way deep into wilderness.

(51:37):
Our missionaries go, and you knowthat the process has sped up so quickly.
They are finally seeing an end toit coming up, maybe within a
couple of years. Because of computersand all the advanced stuff we have now
to be able to break through thelanguages and understand languages. It's getting close,
folks. That prophecy is just it'sabout ready to be fulfilled, folks.

(52:01):
And he says, when all thenation's here, they have to hear
in their their language. Now theirtongue. They don't speak Greek or Hebrew
or whatever, Aramic or English.They have to hear it in their language,
and folks, that's coming, andit's coming soon. Jesus, It's
coming back so soon, folks,you better get ready for it, because
if you're not ready, you're goingto be in one heap of a mess.

(52:23):
You know, these things that getso bad. Je said, run
to the mountains, you know,run to the willness, hide where you
know what, if you want toreally hide, you need a bunker.
You need a great bunker, veryp because we might have to deal with
nuclear issues. And there's no greaterbunker than the bunk are manufactured by the
Lord Jesus Christ. Go to hisbunker. That's the safest safe house she'll

(52:46):
ever get. Believe that he reallydied for your sins, was bared and
roast in the dead, and youhave no need to worry about anything because
you're going to be with Jesus andhe's going to take care of you.
Well, folks, it's time forus to go. Now, as we
close with a mind Saint Martin singinga quill goodbye, and God bless all
out there. They call you queengoodbye. They think we just pleas feed

(53:19):
our time. I needed all threesibyl Si love this time for a que goodbye.