Goodbye to an Old Friend - Ken Kesey Has Died copyright (c) November 11, 2001 -- One more of the origianl Beat Generation has made the transition. Author and LSD proponet Ken Kesey died yesterday at the age of 66. Kesey threw a jaundiced eye on society with novels like One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest and Once A Great Nation. Ken tripped across the nation with Neal Cassady and the Merry Pranksters in an episode chronicled in Tom Wolfes The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. While Once A Great Nation was Kesey's best work, One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest became his most famous because of a ridiculous bastardization of a movie starring Jack Nickolson. In Kesey's novel, Cookoo tells the story of an Indian, Chief Bromden, who is judged to be schizophrenic by the wasichu (a Lakota word for white people without reference to their skin colour) doctors. The Hollyweird types altered the focus to RP McMurphy, made this wasichu (Nickolson's role) the hero (of course) and completely fucked over Kesey's meaning. Ken Kesey was an amasing performer who lived for his audiences. Ken embodied the phrase life of the party."Enjoy your next ride, Kenny," offers Chief Armond Blackwater, "we'll continue to enjoy your spiritual presence."