Rest easy, Tony

This morning begun like any other I woke up and did my daily routine of checking my Facebook. Usually my feed is filled with memes and whatever my friends have been up to. Today it was different. I opened Facebook and received rather distressing news: Anthony Bourdain, one of my heroes, is dead. Fuck that’s sad. To make matters worse, it was a suicide.

Never in a million years would I have guessed he would take his own life. For years I’ve looked up to him, I thought he had the perfect life. Traveling the world, eating great food, getting to know the people who make those places and dishes so great, and getting paid millions to do it. Now it seems just like Robin Williams he was tormented with demons others were oblivious of until it was too late.

I’ve never been one to mince my words. I don’t believe in watering shit down and neither did Bourdain. Throughout his entire career he always called it as he saw it, unlike so many other TV personalities who sugarcoat everything and omit uncomfortable truths. Some people thought he was brash, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In many episodes he was open about his struggles with alcoholism, substance abuse, and sex addiction, knowing about this made his rise to super stardom all the more inspirational. That’s a big part of why the news is so shocking.

Watching him on TV as 14 year old who didn’t get out much provide a level of escapism I couldn’t find in many other places. I’ve always been a man of history, Bourdain was too. No matter where he went, he always delved deep into the history and never acted like he was some kind of expert. Instead he was a lifetime learner who passionately and generously shared what he learned with the world.

Yesterday if you to ask me if I could meet anyone in the world, I would have said him. Over the years I felt as if I knew him well, now it seems there was much about him nobody knew. He will be missed deeply. If you’re ever having thought about suicide remember that you will be too, reach out to a close friend or religious leader or call a suicide hotline. Here is a list of several around the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

I don’t know what else to say, so here’s the theme song for his last show. Its a life affirming anthem that reminds us things will be ok:

#ripbourdain #anthonybourdain