Brautigan and a little Gilespie

I was reading up on Brautigan a little bit, specifically in regards to his suicide, and found out that he left a suicide note that simply read, "Messy, isn't it?"
That threw me for a loop.
He'd been dead for around a month before anyone found him. Apparently he had shot himself in the head with a pistol while standing in his house, facing his window that overlooked the ocean.
The last person who claims to have talked to him was an ex-girlfriend.
Here is what brautigan.net has to say about it:
"Brautigan reportedly last seen alive when he left San Francisco for his home in Bolinas, California. While in San Francisco he accidentally met his former wife Akiko. They had divorced four years earlier. Brautigan seemed shocked to see her and in some accounts, ran away. He also met Marcia Clay, a former girlfriend with whom he had broken off from also four years earlier when she sided with Akiko in the divorce. Several accounts say Brautigan then went to Cho-Cho Tempura Bar, 1020 Kearny Street, a popular San Francisco Japanese restaurant, where he allegedly borrowed a Smith & Wesson .44 magnum handgun from owner Jimmy Sakata. Brautigan often visited the restaurant, talking with owner Sakata about anything from Japanese writers to firearms. Brautigan drank heavily in the afternoon and evening and returned to his house in Bolinas. Clay called Brautigan later that night, shortly after 11:00 pm, in Bolinas. Brautigan said he wanted to read something to her. She hung up so he could find the piece of writing he wanted to read. When she called back Brautigan did not answer. She called repeatedly, each time getting only the answering machine. As she and other concerned friends called over the next days the batteries in the answering machine ran down. Brautigan's recorded voice took on a surreal quality (Lawrence Wright 59-60). It is possible that Brautigan killed himself just after Clay's initial telephone call, sometime after 11:00 pm."

Here is also one of the few videos I could find on youtube of Brautigan in the flesh



I loved Trout Fishing in America and really related to his sense of humor.
He seemed like a cool cat.
The picture at the top is of a funny man, that's for sure.
It's always tragic to find out when authors take their own lives. There seems to be a long standing tradition of such authors, and it's a shame that Brautigan was amongst them.
Rest in Peace Trout Fisherman.

But on a much lighter note, here's a song by Dizzy Gilespie that I enjoy very much (notice the RCA victor label on the record):



-Tyler Watson