Don't Write, Ralph!
The late, great Hunter S. Thompson, in a letter to his friend and co-conspirator Ralph Steadman, wrote: "Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family." Of course, Hunter was always one for putting down anyone's writing skills as a matter of job security. But I just started The Joke's Over, Steadman's book on his life with Hunter, and I have to say, Hunter vastly underestimated Steadman's way with words. Check out the following excerpt in which Steadman recalls observing the obese mid-westerners and Southerners at the Kentucky Derby in 1970. Keep in mind, Steadman is Welsh.
"I observed for one hour with horrified fascination! Obesity was a common sight in most central and Southern states. The culmination of years of hash browns and eggs sunny side-up, French fries, oily salads, pancakes with maple syrup and club sandwiches, washed down with sweet Coca-Cola and blueberry milk shakes. It's no accident that men's trousers are made in stretch-nylon synthetics, to accomodate their drooping paunches and elaphantine legs and women's dresses hang like marquees without tent pegs and guy ropes."
Ha! Beautiful!
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