He had broken some part of his leg some weeks before, and the prospect of him walking again was bleak. It was ultimately too much for him to handle. And as deplorable as suicide is, there is something to be said about a man who began his note with the phrase "football season is over."
But it was not just football. Here was a cynic who had been calling out everyone from LBJ to GWB, and his admitted career high point was a cab ride with Nixon in which they had discussed NFL odds. His work appeared in everything from Rolling Stone Magazine to ESPN's Page Two. In many ways he was the original super-blogger: an opinionated writer with ultimate access to America's top publications through his relentless criticisms of America's shortcomings.
His ideology was a weird amalgamation of Libertarian rights and far-left Liberal foreign policy. The man kept a fully-gunned household and nearly won a Sheriff's election on something he called the "Freak Ticket". He inspired countless imitators, but the void left by his self-destruction has still not been filled.
For there has been no one to take his place. It is as if now that he is gone, the media is relieved that there is not that rogue entity to stand up and say all the things that no one wants to form into words. In this way also, HST was the original blogger. He had the honest and harsh point of view with the luxury of multiple media outlets willing to print them just because of the name recognition associated with them. Now we have nothing. No one from the mainstream media has jumped in to fill that void. And this, in large part, is why there are so many blogs today. He inspired many of us to make our opinions heard in their most raw and cynical fashions, but without that heavyweight professional in our corner, they remain largely unheard.
We miss you, Doctor, but we wish you were here for this time in American History.
For more possible connections, check out HST's book on the 1992 Clinton campaign:
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