Hunter S. Thompson

Gonzo journalist, anti-hero and role model Hunter S. Thompson was born on July 18, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky. He appears seven times in A Book of Ages. Jailed for robbery at 18; later turning up as a Caribbean correspondent for Time magazine and El Sportivo; purchasing a mail-order doctorate; running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; showing up as a recurring character in Doonesbury; being arrested for possession of various drugs and various weapons, including a Gatling gun; and, perhaps most significantly, inventing shotgun golf (Olympic certification pending.) Measured against his achievements, most of our lives seem tame and uninteresting, but we are still living. Happy Birthday Hunter.

O. J.

Today is O. J. Simpson's 62nd birthday. Few people appear in so many categories of the popular imagination: star athlete, film actor, pleasant TV pitchman, celebrity, criminal defendant, armed robber, con (in both senses of the word.) Juice appears three times in A Book of Ages: winning the Heisman Trophy at age 21, running through airports for Hertz Rent-a-Car at 29, becoming a widower at 47. I doubt we'll ever drink another glass of orange juice without seeing his smiling face.