"Verbal Insanity Meets Visual Insanity"

It was May of 1969 at The Kentucky Derby when Hunter S Thompson first meet Ralph Steadman. Hunter is a powerful figure to encounter. With his tall thin frame and unbalanced walk (due to one leg being longer than the other and his drinking), his reputation would send people under the table for cover. His eccentricities and wild outbursts often left fellow journalists out of his reach. They were the prey, and he was the hunter. His voice was deep and grumbled like some great volcano about to erupt when he opened his thin lips. This volcano was always smoking with the help of a cigarette holder held in the corner of his lips, just dangling until something or someone caught his eye.

When he first caught sight of Ralph Steadman in the press box, he clutched his cigarette holder between his teeth and eyed him down. He looked like a feral dog waiting for a rival to step on his turf. Steadman sat making small talk with some journalists when suddenly they got silent. They all stared with wide eyes at the beast behind poor Ralph. Uncertain of what was going on Ralph turned slowly and saw Hunter smiling crookedly at him. He mumbled something of a hello and ranted about the nuns he almost hit in a Volkswagen on his way over. Ralph hearing a bit about the infamous Thompson watched with awe. He felt cold sweat trickle down his body, which his tweed jacket hid. Thompson could not see Steadman's gaze due to his sunglasses, nor could Steadman see Thomson's dilated eyes hidden behind his aviator tea shades.

Thompson knew little about his new friend. All spoken over the phone from his publisher was that Steadman was British and this was his first time in America. He had a beard, but still looked young. He looked very British and that is how Thompson knew who Steadman was. It was a combination of the nose and suit Steadman wore. All the other journalists in the press box wore grey and black suits, but Steadman wore tweed. What an odd fabric tweed is, rough and durable. This comparison intrigued Thompson about Steadman's personality.

Thompson told Steadman about the woman at the hotel who said Steadman left and one would know him if one saw him. According to her he had a growth all over his face, referring to the beard, but to Thompson it sounded like some deformity. Thompson explained to Steadman, "Just keep in mind that this is Louisville, Kentucky. Not London. Not even New York. This is a weird place. You're lucky that mental defective at the motel didn't jerk a pistol out of the cash register and blow a big hole in you." To this Steadman looked a little worried. The other journalists listened in on the conversation with great amusement, but were soon frightened away when Thompson whipped out a can of "Chemical Billy" mace pretending to soak imaginary inmates. Ralph stepped back afraid that Thompson would actually spray someone.

At the bar they relaxed with "management's Scotch." Their conversation was about how easily they got two sets of first class press credentials. Thompson asked if Steadman had any of his work on him, and Steadman took out his notebook and showed Thompson a few sketches he took on his plane trip over. One was of a fat woman eating a small dog on a bun. It was a rough sketch with lines and dripping ink all over the page. It looked more like a frustrated attempt, then of art. It was grotesque, just like Thompson's type of work. He got someone who could illustrate visually his twisted terms and outlook on the Kentucy Derby. Thompson with all his twists and quick glances waiting for a somebody to sneak up on him, showed Steadman what type of person he was dealing with for the next few days. His spasmodic art came to life with the name of Hunter S Thompson.