Anthony Bourdain’s death surprised me and shocked me. Perhaps we will find out more in the coming days about why he killed himself. I’ll be surprised if we don’t. Still, I am surprised.
It struck me that he had the perfect life. He got to travel to exotic countries, sample all the great food, and talk to interesting people. I enjoyed his TV show. The food was only half of it. It worked really great as travelogue.
The thing I liked about him is that he was a celebrity chef who seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. I do not care for the Gordon Ramsey types, always yelling at people and insulting them.
I was a bit surprised (pleasantly so) to realize how important he was to so many people. Everybody on my Facebook feed is talking about it – it’s Rock Star level – and I’m glad to see that. A lot of people talked about his book and how much it inspired them. I suppose that should go on my reading list.
re suicide, though. I don’t really understand, have never been seriously tempted, but, with proper disclaimers that I feel bad for family and friends, etc., I don’t take an absolutist position. I don’t know that it’s always the wrong choice. I don’t think all suicides are the same.
When an 18 year old kid commits suicide because they were bullied at school or their girlfriend ditched them, I see that as a tragedy. They gave up before the race had even started, they thought they knew life and were rejecting it, but they didn’t know life at all.
When somebody over 60 commits suicide, like Bourdain, Robin Williams, Hunter S. Thompson, or Ernest Hemingway, I figure they knew what they were doing, they had their reasons. I feel bad we lost them, but it was their choice.
So long, Anthony Bourdain. You gave a lot of people a lot of happiness. The contribution you made to the world was great, and you will be missed.
