Bill Walton Finally Comes Down From 23-Year Long Acid Trip

SAN DIEGO, CA-Bill Walton, basketball analyst for ESPN, has finally come down from a lengthy acid trip that began on December 25, 1981. The former NBA star is resting at his home in San Diego, where he is reportedly “trying to get his head together” in an effort to return to work as soon as possible. The disoriented Walton is getting lots of bed rest and avoiding dark places and psychedelic music.

“The important thing is for Bill to feel normal again,” said his personal physician, Dr. Mel Langston. “We need to keep him in well-lit rooms, feed him lots of vitamins, and keep him away from dangerous stimulants like the Grateful Dead’s Dick’s Picks Volume 18, which has that insane, 42 minute ‘Dark Star’ jam. That kind of thing could cause some serious flashbacks.”

To counter the effects of the acid, Walton is being fed a steady diet of bland, non-threatening pop music such as Creed and Blink 182.

The acid trip began innocently enough on Christmas Eve of ’81, when Walton was a member of the San Diego Clippers. He purchased a sheet of Orange Sunshine acid at a Christmas party thrown by former Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse. Walton, a well-known hippie and experienced acid taker, took 9 hits of the potent drug and embarked on the trip of his life. Steve Morse recalls the fateful night:

“I remember telling him to go easy on the stuff, but he didn’t listen. He was very sure of himself and took the warning as a challenge to his manhood. He told me that it’s all mind over matter, and that he was so strong willed that he could handle any amount. I just shrugged and told him to have fun. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know it was gonna last 23 years.”

According to Morse, Walton contacted him three weeks later and asked for the number of the person who sold him the acid.

“He was a mess,” said Morse. “He was like ‘What the fuck? I’m never coming down again. Who sold me this shit? I need to talk to him like, now.’ I had no idea. It was a big party and there were hundreds of people there I didn’t even know. I tried to calm him down but I really didn’t know what to say to him. People on acid are always worrying that they’re never going to come down. It’s normal. But after three weeks, I couldn’t really argue with the guy. I figured he was fucked for life.”

Faced with an endless acid trip and a permanently warped perspective, Walton had no choice but to resume his life, and work through the pain and confusion.

“Life was very, very difficult for Bill during his years with the Clippers,” said his wife, Jill. “They were a dismal team and his experiences on the court made for a horrible acid trip.”

“The mind of a person on LSD is very fragile,” explained Dr. Langston. “The slightest bit of negativity can send him or her into a spiral of catatonic despair. There were times during those years when Bill sat in the locker room after games weeping, pondering the meaning of life and wondering when his nightmare would end. Plus, it’s tough to hit a free throw when hoop is all wobbly.”

Despite his deteriorating mental condition, Walton’s life improved with his trade to the Boston Celtics. He was an integral part of the Larry Bird-led C’s that battled the Los Angeles Lakers for league supremacy. He was even awarded the 6th man award in 1986, coming full circle since his glory days in Portland. Walton considers those the best years of his life.

“Now that was a good time,” said the bedridden Walton during a telephone interview yesterday. “It's hard to even describe playing with a man like Larry Bird, in a fabulous, spectacular city like Boston, and competing every night on such a strong, cohesive, and unselfish team. The acid only made things better. The negativity of previous years had disappeared and I was intoxicated with positive energy, winning the 6th man award even though my knees were barely functioning. My doctor told me I shouldn’t even be walking, but I was operating on pure adrenaline thanks to that orange sunshine.”

Walton’s former teammates were not surprised to find that he was under the influence of LSD during his tenure with the Celtics.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” said former Celtic Kevin McHale. “That explains a lot, actually. Like during time outs, when the organist would be playing ‘charge’, he would close his eyes and twirl around in circles – you know, that hippie dance. Sometimes, he would yell ‘Yea! Rip it up, Roy [Broberg, the Boston Garden organist], rip it up, baby!’ We just thought he was a space shot. I guess we were right.”

Walton credits Larry Bird for turning his acid trip around and helping him gain a positive perspective on life, even though his brain was full of poisonous acid.

“Larry Legend, Larry Bird, the man, the myth, the legend,” said Walton. “What a man. I remember the game in ’86 when he scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to single-handedly will the team to victory. After he hit the game winning shot and the Garden faithful were on their feet, I noticed this strange glow around him. At that moment, he was like a God. An extraordinary energy was emanating from his body, in waves that were visible only to me. I wanted fall to my knees and kiss his feet, but I didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself. Plus, with my knees, I may never have gotten back up.”

His uplifting experience with the Celtics enabled Walton to move on from basketball when he was forced to retire and establish himself as a premier color commentator. After beginning in 1988 with TNT, Walton quickly gained a reputation as a smart, funny, and outrageous personality.

“Walton said some crazy things,” recalled former partner Brent Musberger. “He was always going to extremes, and his love for the game of basketball was contagious. Sometimes he got so emotional, I would turn to him and ask him if he was OK. One time he told me he was just ‘enjoying the unbelievably positive vibe in the room, and basking in the fervent glow of the arena lights.’ I was like ‘OK. If you say so.’”

“Working as a color commentator was more challenging than playing the game,” said Walton. “Much more challenging. You can really lose yourself when you’re on the court, and just let adrenaline and instinct take over. But as an analyst, you must have a grasp of what’s going on, and you also have to sit very still. That can fuck you up when you’re on acid.”

Some of his most disturbing experiences came when he was working side by side with Marv Albert.

“Marv Albert is a wonderful, phenomenal man, but he freaked me out a little,” said Walton. “First, there was that whole sex assault thing, which made for some uncomfortable moments, and then there was that bizarre hairpiece. I remember during the 93 playoffs, I looked at him and his hairpiece started growling at me. It was snarling and snapping and looked like it was ready to leap off his head and devour me. I looked at him in abject horror, but he didn’t seem to notice, thank God. How would I explain that one? ‘Oh, don’t mind me, Marv. It’s just that I’ve been tripping on acid since 1981 and your freakish wig is about to tear my head off.’ Needless to say, that would’ve been a little awkward.”

Walton continued living and working under the influence of acid, making the best of a bad situation. He experienced many highs and lows along the way, but last summer he sensed it might be wearing off.

“I was feeling things a little less,” said Walton. “Things were a little less vivid. Lights glowed a little less, organ music sounded a little more flat, and I was even able to sleep a little better. Sure enough, I was still tripping, but there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel.”

That light was finally reached when Walton fell asleep on Dec 24th of this year, and did not wake up until the 30th. It was his longest stretch of sleeping in 23 years, and he felt refreshed and alive upon waking up.

“Holy fucking shit,” Walton exclaimed upon waking up. “Holy fucking shit. That was some amazing acid. The last 23 years are a total blur.”

Dr. Langston says that although Walton is no longer tripping, the after-effects could last for some time. An acid hangover can sometimes be just as painful and uncomfortable as the trip itself.

“Typically, LSD lasts around 12 hours, and the hangover last about a day,” said Langston. “A typical acid hangover leaves the victim feeling drowsy, confused, depressed and disoriented. I have no idea how long the hangover will be from a 23-year trip, but I think it’s a safe assumption that he’ll be a decrepit old man before he’s back to normal again, and at that point he’d probably be senile. So my advice to him: Take more acid.”

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