March 1, 1959
Middletown, New York

X2787
NY Times

Dear Sir,

This letter is in reference to your “editor wanted” ad in this morning’s _Times_. If, after reading the rest of this letter, you think we should talk further, you may contact me at 22 Mulberry St., Middletown, New York. Or phone Diamond 2-XXXX, Middletown.
Until this recent week I was a reporter on the _Middletown Daily Record_. On Thursday I was summarily fired. Since the reasons for my dismissal are a little unusual I think it would be wise for me to outline them here. I find them morbidly amusing, but I think the humor will soon vanish from the situation. I’m told it’s difficult to laugh on an empty stomach.
Several weeks ago I outraged a long-time _Record_ advertiser by sending a meal back to his kitchen for immediate consignment to the garbage can. This consequently resulted in a rather ugly session between me, the advertiser, and the _Record’s_ editor & publisher. The judgment was definitely not in my favor and I was told that my job would henceforth rest on very thin ice.
Several days ago I was instrumental in the looting of an office candy machine. I had put two nickels in the thing without getting anything out of it. I then gave it a severe rattling which rendered the coin slot obsolete. Word got around in the back shop and a “run” on the machine followed almost immediately. The total loss--some $7.35--came out of my paycheck. My popularity soared as far as the back-shop people were concerned, of course, but there were those who viewed the situation with some alarm--notably the managing editor. I was fired the next day.
Although it seems a little ridiculous to go into all this, I did so because I doubt very seriously whether the same information will be made available by the _Record_ management in the event I need a reference. Since I was comparatively new on the paper I can understand their course of action to some extent. I want to make it clear, however, that my dismissal was not based on the quality of my work. I urge you, in the event of any confusion on this score, to take any steps you see fit in order to clear this up.
I enclose a résumé and some clippings which I would like very much for you to return. You will find a self-addressed envelope for this purpose. The résumé was done originally for a sportswriting job and is thus heavily slanted in that direction. Although my experience is far more comprehensive than the résumé would seem to indicate, I saw no sense in listing it all for that particular job. Please disregard the reference to the _Police Gazette_.
All résumés are necessarily superficial and mine is no different. There are other things, however, which may in the long run prove to be far more important than anything included in a résumé. This is true in my case, at any rate.
Some people find it exceedingly difficult to get along with me and I have to choose my jobs very carefully. I have no patience for phonies, hacks, dolts, or obnoxious incompetents and I take some pride in the fact that these people invariably dislike me. I admire perfection or any effort toward it and I would not work for anyone who disagreed with me on this score. This is not to say that I refuse to work with people whom I consider incompetent. It merely means that I consider incompetence something to be overcome, rather than accepted.
It seems a little senseless to carry on in this vein. I think I’ve given you a pretty good picture of myself and, at the same time, I realize only one out of a thousand people would hire me after reading this letter. Right now I’m in no mood to give a damn. Maybe later I’ll become more temperate.

So, until I hear from you,

Hunter S. Thompson