Against The Day

Is Merle Rideout Hunter’s Ride Out? Many of Merle’s passages are written as if in homage to Hunter S. Plus Merle’s interest in alchemy and chemicals, his numerous lapses, his affinity for the American West, and keeper of the American frontier spirit, his dialogue, his relationship to Lindsay Noseworth, plus the use of phrases and words that could be right out of Fear & Loathing… well.. you be the judge.

Quotes…
Right. Challenge the bastards on their own turf. Come screeching up to the crosswalk, bucking and skidding with a bottle of rum in one hand and jamming the horn to drown out the music … glazed eyes insanely dilated behind tiny black gold-rimmed greaser shades, screaming gibberish … a genuinely dangerous drunk, reeking of ether and terminal psychosis. Revving the engine up to a terrible high-pitched chattering whine, waiting for the light to change …

How often does a chance like that come around? To jangle the bastards right down to the core of their spleens. Old elephants limp off to the hills to die; old Amercans go out to the highway and drive themselves to death with huge cars.

But our trip was different. It was to be a classic affirmation of everything right and true in the national character. It was a gross physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country - but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that.

– Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1972