Mescalito, Pages 15 through 29 Summary and Analysis

Mescalito takes the form of a diary/journal entry, and it is dated February 16, 1969. The author, Hunter S. Thompson, found himself in Los Angeles at the Continental Hotel. He was on the balcony, taking in such things as an ambulance passing by and four hippies walking by him on the sidewalk, giving him the "V" peace symbol. Thompson was there to report on the "street freaks" as he called them.

In an entry dated February 18, Thompson lamented his deadlines and pressures from his newspaper. He had writer's block, which included a combination of laziness, a late-night work ethic that was not working, and the fact that he had consumed a large quantity of pills, presumably Dexedrine and smoked marijuana.

The hotel's fire alarm went off, but it was a false alarm. Thompson remarked upon the large amount...