Tony

[angrychair]

The list of people I admire is short. Some share common traits. Some are unique.
They are, if nothing else, meaningful to me and span a wide spectrum of human history.

Anthony Bourdain was on that list.

Not a perfect person.

The beauty was he never claimed to be.

He was a “warts and all” kind of guy.

You got exactly what you came to see.

He was a mad genius.

A contrarian.

A thinker.

He had an infinite capacity for compassion and understanding.

He was a person that walked through a world that didn’t deserve him but desperately needed him none the less.

What some would have us see as a cold hard world, he showed you the beauty of the human condition and how no matter how different some make us seem we are no different at all.

We smile. We laugh. We eat. We drink. We love.

He traveled the world with both a child’s wonder and a realist eye.

An uncompromising perspective and a passionate soul.

No greater honor can be said of a person than to say to them “you matter and you are loved”

Well Tony “you mattered” and “you were loved”

The past tense is the bitterest pill of all.

Never forget to say those words to the people that matter and you love.

We need more of that in all our lives.

[BigmanPigman]

1. Jose Andres, who has known Tony for over 15 years and

a fellow chef and activist, paid tribute to his friend: “You will always travel with me.”
"My friend..I know you are on a Ferry going to somewhere amazing.....you still had so many places to show us, whispering to our souls the great possibilities beyond what we could see with our own eyes...you only saw beauty in all http://people.you will always travel with me".

[Grammy23]

2. Nice tribute to a guy so many of us loved to watch.

We traveled the world with him as our guide and tutor. He introduced us to people and cuisine most of us would never get to experience without his encouragement.

My heart sank this morning when I read the news. And I silently wept for his loss. We just never know the burdens of another person’s life. Let’s all vow to be kinder, pay closer attention to those we encounter and never forget to say I love you, I care, you matter.

[Lunabell]

3. I'm so sad.

I love his shows. Now, it will be so bittersweet watching the reruns. Sigh

[lillypaddle]

4. If I had a list

He would definitely be on it - and very near the top. RIP Anthony.

[Honeycombe8]

5. He died? I haven't read the news today. Guess I need to go over to CNN. nt

[grantcart]

9. Suicide, beyond tragic

[Honeycombe8]

11. I read that. I'm flabbergasted. A rich, famous, attractive man? I didn't realize he & wife split....

and he had an Italian gf that he was broken off from. Unrequited love, maybe?

Coming so soon after Kate Spade killed herself? Rich, attractive, famous, too.

What the heck? I don't understand it. Unless they had a serious, debilitating disease diagnosis.

[LeftInTX]

15. It doesn't make sense to me

He did have trouble with relationships, but I always thought his traveling made up for it. He seemed to love what he was doing.

He does have a history of substance abuse and was heavy smoker, but quit smoking in 2007.

[Honeycombe8]

23. He'd quit smoking? I hadn't realized that.

I didn't know he had been a druggie.

This makes me so sad. I liked him. Not his eating habits, but him.

He may have had trouble with relationships, but I got the impression he was a bit of a player. His trouble was his inability to commit, as is so often the case with wealthy, career driven men, until they get older (like Clooney, Warren Beatty). Then, too, his constant traveling had to have an impact on his personal life.

Celebrities who travel a lot have said it's lonely on the road. There's a crew, but it's not the same as being around loved ones. They say. I wouldn't know.

Both of the suicides left children behind. So they must have been very low...that's so sad.

[Luz]

21. Depression IS a serious, debilitating disease. Its not just

someone getting the blues over unrequited love. It doesn't distinguish between the haves and have nots.

[UTUSN]

6. Above all: Humane.

[nolabear]

7. I don't feel real affection for many "stars" but he was special.

I mean, I like plenty and fangirl a few but I love a storyteller. I loved Spaulding Grey, who also died by suicide. Seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is genuinely open to it is a great privilege. Bourdain was one of those conduits to the Great Mystery. Losing him and knowing he hurt is just hollowing.

A good friend was on his recent Seattle show. He recounts that he was much the same as we see, an artist and a good man.

Cross easy, Tony. We won’t forget you.

[LittleGirl]

8. Great human

2016 was a terrible year for humans that graced our presence and lost that year and this one...wow. Such despair this year.
RIP

[radius777]

10. Bourdain was an old-school liberal

in the truest sense of the word... rough around the edges, curious about all types of cultures and peoples, never looked down on anyone...

RIP brother

[iluvtennis]

12. Rest in Peace Anthony...you will be missed

[dhill926]

13. Man, this sucks...

Tony was Willie Nelson cool. A great human will be missed by many...

[shanti]

17. oh god, please don't mention willie!

he's getting up there in years too, so he hasn't a lot of time left. i don't even want to think about it

[LeftInTX]

20. Willie will go naturally.....(I assume. I hope)

But this is just depressing...


I saw Willie perform in November. He's still got it, but no one lives forever.

[LeftInTX]

14. OMG........

[shanti]

16. I have such sympathy for his young daughter

For her father to leave her so young is such a tragedy!

I feel the same way about Tony. He signed a book for me in San Francisco on my birthday about 2008. The man went much too soon, and I've been messed up all day!

[LeftInTX]

18. Not only will he be missed, but this is making me depressed

I felt he was "part of our lives"......

[spanone]

19. K&R...

[applegrove]

22. I just can't believe he is gone. He will be greatly missed. Nobody else

is quite like him.

[Honeycombe8]

24. I looked up suicide stats in America...

Suicides are up. They spiked during the Republican Recession, as one would expect. But I was surprised to see the top group that commits suicide is the older white male. I would have thought it would be middle aged women (they are high on the list, tho) and teens. But the #1 is the older white male. I wonder why that is?

I just can't believe this. I will miss seeing him and hearing about his comments...he had some doozies.

[oberliner]

25. Men tend to be less likely to reach out for help and support

That could be one factor.

[Honeycombe8]

27. That makes sense. nt

[angrychair]

26. The republican reason

Is that white men ate being “oppressed”.

While yes, the majority of it is white males with no college, the reason is far more logical and complex than that.
The world is changing and getting by with little to no education or skills is becoming less and less an option. Work is harder and longer and you have to work in environments you didn’t have to in the old days and for money that comes no where near paying the bills. Couple this with women and people of color and other minority groups have grown in size and influence and not allowing white males to influence or dominate them at work or in society.
So that sense of helplessness (that many minorities have felt for hundreds of years) and the losing grip on power and control is causing them to loss hope and leaving them feeling unbalanced and chaotic.
That has long term detrimental impact to their psyche and is making more and more likely to fall into depression and suicide.