Neal Cassady grew up as a quasi-homeless wayfaring boy with his alcoholic, unemployed father in the projects of Denver. His unconventional upbringing led to adolescence rife with theft, drug use, and extreme sexual awakening at a young age. Cassady grew up quite quickly and led an overexposed life, which foreshadows his death at the age of 42 of exposure, next to railroad tracks in Mexico. His life, however, seems to be regarded by many as the eighth wonder of the world. He was full of an interminable curiosity and energy, and was considered by many as the herald angel of the Beat Movement. The oft-used term to describe Cassady, "Damaged Angel," has its source in Cassady's childlike face and immortal physical appearance but with eyes and a soul that suggested he was somehow damaged. This man, in turn, would not suprisingly become one of the most influential individuals during the 1950s and 1960s.

For a time I held a unique position: among the hundreds of isolated creatures who haunted the streets of lower downtown Denver there was not one so young as myself. Of these dreary men who had committed themselves, each for his own good reason, to the task of finishing their days as

Allen Ginsberg was introduced to Neal Cassady in 1946 in New York City and was instantly enamored. The young Jewish poet from Paterson, New Jersey saw Cassady as an ideal hero and mate. Their early sexual relationship and Cassady's later rejection of Ginsberg both had a significant effect on Ginsberg's writing. (Richman). Jack Kerouac (Sal) tells the story of when Dean (Neal) met Carlo (Allen Ginsberg) in On the Road, "Two keen minds that they are, they took to each other at the drop of a hat. Two piercing eyes glanced into two piercing eyes - the holy con-man with the shining mind, and the sorrowful poetic con-man with the dark mind that is Carlo Marx...Their energies met head on...The whole mad swirl of everything that was to become began then..." (Kerouac 8). Kerouac and Cassady took many aimless, purposeless trips driving around the country. Cassady is famous for finding a purpose in all of these pointless trips. Just like Dean Moriarty taught Sal something new about life, his self or others around them in On The Road, everywhere Kerouac and Cassady went, Neal showed Jack new ways to think and live. Neal was a supporter of the shock factor and the impromptu spontaneous ways that inspired the Beats. The immense influence that Cassady would be known to have on the Beat Generation is demonstrated simply in Allen Ginsberg's most famous poem, "Howl," "'N.C., secret hero of these poems..." His genius and his extraordinary madness was inspiration that taught the Beats how to live. Although his likeness appeared in the works of many authors, Kerouac, Ginsberg and Ken Kesey were closest to Neal Cassady. They best translated his spirit into the written word, and left the strongest record of the exploits of this modern American hero. With Ginsberg and Kerouac, Cassady explored America physically and spiritually more fully than any who went before. They were, as Kerouac said, living the ultimate beat generation lives.

Babbs, Ken. The Cassady Issue. Pleasant Hill, Oregon: SITO, 1981

In 1964, Cassady, Kesey and his band of friends and acquaintances, dubbed the "Merry Pranksters," gathered together on an old school bus for the ride of a lifetime. Cassady, dubbed "Speed Limit," was the driver of the bus. "The bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began. There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to Nevereverland" ('The Other One' The Grateful Deadi). With what seemed to be a never-ending supply of LSD, these people ranging in age and backgrounds that run the entire spectrum traveled across the country together to New York for the World's Fair. The concept of "Furthur," painted on the bus, meant taking their "trip" further in their own unique way. This is similar to the way Cassady always took thoughts and his own life a little further than anyone else, through drugs, sexual experimentation or simple ideas.

Plummer, William. Holy Goof: A Biography of Neal Cassady. New York: Paragon House, 1981

Cassady, Carolyn. Off The Road. London: Black Spring, 1990

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Approximate Word count = 2710
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)