Author Ken Kesey died Saturday morning from liver cancer in Eugene, Ore. at the age of 66. I found out Sunday around noon and it felt like someone had hit me in the chest with a hammer.

In all fairness, Kesey wasn?t a hero of my generation, but of my parent?s generation, although even that doesn’t seem to soften the blow of his passing.

Kesey was best known as the man who penned two of the greatest books of the 20th century, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest” and “Sometimes a Great Notion.”

He was also the protagonist of Tom Wolfe?s 1968 literary classic, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” which chronicled Kesey and his friends? experimentation with LSD (maybe experimentation is the wrong word–devotion is probably more suitable).

It must have been quite a burden for Kesey to deal with the fact that he wrote the two best novels of his life before the age of 30. It would kill most people.

I had the pleasure of meeting Kesey a few years ago at a festival in San Francisco at a reunion concert for rock band Jane?s Addiction. The Merry Pranksters were there and so was their coveted “Furthur” bus.

They put on a show in one of the rooms of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. During the question and answer period, I asked Kesey a question about the passion and symbolism of his novel, “Sometimes a Great Notion.” I was a little embarrassed that the guy was virtually incoherent and unable to answer my question.

It was obvious that Kesey?s fondness for LSD had taken a toll on him, but who am I to question the mental capabilities of one of the finest writers of the 20th century?

I feel a kinship with Kesey and our home state of Oregon. I?ve driven on the roads and scenery he so beautifully and succinctly describes in “Sometimes a Great Notion.” Many members of my family, including myself, were born at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene where he died. My grandmother used to do volunteer work there in the 80s.

It?s tough to describe a bond with a man I have met, but don?t know personally. I think Kesey embodied the carefree spirit in which we wish we could live our lives, but are afraid to.

But I think there is a little bit of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest,” protagonist Randle P. McMurphy in all of us and we must continue to stand up to the Nurse Ratcheds of the world. We need to listen to that voice in our head that tells us we are big enough and strong enough to break that window.

Farewell, Chief.

Matt Wagar is a journalism major. He can be reached at [email protected]