for anthony bourdain.
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Tony,
Inside of practically every household I’ve been to in my adulthood, I’ve noticed at least one well-loved, tattered, dog-eared copy of one of your books - each copy having been shared and devoured by multiple people.
Your books take me a very long time to read and I adore it. Your prose is so wildly descriptive, transporting me right alongside you in those life experiences you’ve captured on the pages. I hear your voice and your distinct cadence narrating the stories to me. I read each page multiple times in order to fully dissect each word choice and let them envelop me within your brilliant world of memories.
Your dark & mysterious yet humorous & genuine persona has fascinated, intrigued and inspired so many people across almost every living age generation. We love you because the genius that is your transcendent dialogue fills up all of our senses so vividly and connects us directly to your adventures. We feel like you have brought us along for the journey, whether in your books or on television, and that feeling of comfort & friendship with you is priceless.
You encourage us to not only step outside but exist outside of our comfort zones.
You inspire us to travel and discover the perfect imperfection of every vibrant culture of the world, finding familiarity among the “unfamiliar."
You were seemingly unafraid, as we all should be. This is our one life, and you truly lived.
Connecting and gathering over food is the core of humanity and one of the many things we all truly have in common. You embodied the beauty of that sentiment and affected the world deeply in this way. Your time here was incredibly impactful and the world needed and will forever need the ideals you’ve shared with us.
There are many times I've looked to you for an idea or expertise when planning travel, and I have executed travel plans because of you. When pure inspiration becomes physical action taken by others, you know you’ve tugged at not only the heartstrings, but at the life force and vitality of so many. You will be with us during all our future travels & adventures in enjoying food, the balance of which you were king. You've inspired me in so many ways and I will forever admire you.
Rest easy.
Tony did the leg work for us; he explored the parts unknown so that we can all feel inspired and confident taking on world travel with a sense of knowing, ease and excitement for the unexpected. We owe it to Tony to continue striving to see & experience everything, shake away the mundane and find beauty in even the nasty bits of life.
I’ve never been so instantly devastated by a “celebrity” passing, fighting back tears all day long today - but I also feel a real human connection to Anthony; many of us feel this way without having met him, and that is special. I am deeply saddened as I thought we'd be able to depend on him existing much, much longer in the periphery of our lives, being completely badass, real & inspiring. And selflessly sharing much of it with the mainstream culture along the way. There is something about his incredible soul that we all aspire to embody.
There’s a little piece of Anthony left behind in all of us.
We need more humans like Tony.
xo
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