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Tony Bourdain - my tribute

Life and Death. Yin and Yang.  Time Space continuum.  We as a species are but an insignificant part of something that we cannot fathom.  We perceive it to be vast but we really have no idea.

Amidst this daily chaos we label life we encounter all manners of other humans.  Some we meet in person, get a glimpse or only know of through the use of technology aka the internet, TV or cable shows or pictures.  Mostly we scan and move on.  In some cases you live vicariously through the eyes of someone you have come to respect and admire. 

It almost felt like I had a kinship with Anthony known to his friends as Tony.  His irreverence and his wit, his passion for food and learning about people through their food was something that struck an artery in me and made me proud to consider him my friend.  While the dictionary defines friendship as requiring a mutual connection mine was one sided in the literal sense.  But you felt that Anthony was connecting with millions of his viewers using his language of communication which was the popular food show on CNN to reach his virtual friends.  In that I call him my friend.

My only real intersect with this icon of TV was in passing in San Francisco where he was at a hotel for a shoot for an episode.  I saw him in the lobby walking away.  That was a few years ago.


One can feel disheartened for a variety of reasons in spite of thinking you are a practical dude who does not sway to emotional outbursts.  Such was the case this morning.  As I perused the web to gain an ounce of knowledge along with a few ounces of garam chai (hot tea) to keep company I saw the heartbreaking headline on the local news.  Flipped to CNN to confirm it was not fake news and my worst fear was confirmed.  Anthony Bourdain dead at 61.

His age at death somehow was not as poignant as the fact that he decided to take his own life.  I just finished watching his new episode shot in Hong Kong and reminiscing with my wife about some of the food stalls we too had eaten at not long ago and walked the escalators on the hill where he filmed parts of his narrative.  Looking back he talked about finding himself lonely at times - he is shown taking the Star Ferry between HK and Kowloon.

His life looked glamorous because he helped us enjoy that hour watching the different parts of the globe through his lens.  Only he knew what bothered him.  In that he was alone.

I am not known to believe in spirits (except if they appear in a glass) and souls or prayer  but I will raise a glass in honor of my beloved TV person tonight.

Comments

  1. JPJune 8, 2018 at 11:08 AM

    I will miss Tony and our conversations about his latest show. We'll share a virtual toast to Tony with you this evening.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diamond HeadJune 8, 2018 at 11:36 AM

    Salud

    ReplyDelete

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