Kinship ...

I've never really been a gonzo kinda guy, but I am sort of pissed off. Douglas Brinkley edited the letters of my second cousin, Hunter S. Thompson, so I don't so much object to his becoming the public spokesman for cousin Hunter's estate. But he's been systematically ignoring me as the official family historian. I've got the family bible's record of his Grampa Thompson's birth sitting in my dining room.

Now, I see that Brinkley has announced that the public memorial service for cousin Hunter has been canceled in favor of a private memorial service on 20 August, six months after his suicide. Apparently, they still intend to blow cousin Hunter's ashes out of a cannon over the ranch out in Aspen. You'd think that they'd have sent me an invitation to attend this last chance to say farewell to cousin Hunter. But, no-o-o. Maybe it's just as well. I can't recall having met the old boy in life. Why should I expect to say farewell to him in death?