Final send-off in Colo. today for king of gonzo journalism

WOODY CREEK, Colo. -- A hand-scrawled note on the refrigerator in Hunter S. Thompson's kitchen says: ''Never call 911/ Never/This means you/HST." Over the sink, a snapshot shows the famously reckless father of ''gonzo journalism" nuzzling a tiny kitten.

This room -- jammed with cooking utensils, writing mementos, and a huge television -- is where Thompson wrote some of the acerbic books and articles that made him an American treasure in the late 1960s and early '70s. It is also where he fatally shot himself six months ago at age 67.

The kitchen remains a center of Thompson's still-swirling universe as family and friends wrap up plans to blast his ashes out of a 150-foot-tall monument behind the house at Owl Farm today. It's what Thompson wanted.

''No crying, no tears, only celebration," Thompson's widow, Anita, said during a 2 1/2-hour interview at the home and her makeshift office, providing a rare glimpse into the writer's world.

''He wanted people to celebrate," she said. ''He envisioned it to be a beautiful party. The most amazing people would be there. His friends would celebrate his life. And he was even specific that there would be clinking of ice and whiskey."

The monument towers over a field between the home and a tree-covered red rock canyon wall. It is shrouded in gray and blue tarpaulins that ripple in the wind, and it will not be unveiled until today. It is modeled after Thompson's gonzo logo: a clenched fist, made symmetrical with the addition of a second thumb, perched atop a dagger.

Anita Thompson said the event will include some reminiscence, readings from Thompson's work, and performances by Lyle Lovett as well as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. About 250 people were invited, including the author's longtime illustrator, Ralph Steadman, and actors Sean Penn and Johnny Depp, close friends of the writer.

Depp, who portrayed the writer in the 1998 movie version of ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," is financing much of the send-off, Thompson said. She said that she doesn't know the total cost, and that others have offered to chip in.

The event is private, and security will be tight. David Meeker of Specialized Protective Services in Aspen would say only that the precautions will be more elaborate than for any similar-sized event he has ever protected. The narrow roads that thread the canyon will remain open, but Pitkin County deputies will bar anyone from stopping to watch from outside the property, Thompson said. Sheriff Bob Braudis, a friend of Thompson's, did not return a call.

After today, the monument will be taken down.

Thompson, 32, who married the writer in April 2003, said she plans to protect and promote her husband's legacy.

''I'll be working for Hunter the rest of my life. I know that. I made that commitment, and I'm honored that I can," she said.