Growing Up Gonzo: Excerpts From the Oral History of Hunter S. Thompson

Neville Blakemore (grew up with Hunter in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky): "My parents didn't like my hanging around with him — they thought he was a bully. But we always wanted to go over to his house. There was always something going on. We had toy soldiers and we'd play these huge war games. World War II was a big influence. We'd play Germans and Japanese and have battles all over the neighborhood. People would have cardboard guns and cap pistols and backpacks and helmet liners. Some guys had BB guns."