This one really hurts.
I’m trying to be ok, but these are trying times.
I think everyone wanted to be Anthony Bourdain, to do what Tony did. He was the personification of cool. He was a storyteller, par excellence.
I still remember watching his Parts Unknown episode in the Philippines. It meant so much to me.
He said, “Filipinos give: of themselves, of their time, their money, their love to others.” I cried.
The thing that always fascinated me about him was his love for life. He was so full of life. I wanted to feel as alive as he did.
He struggled with his demons. He was flawed, but with every episode I watched, I felt he was fighting back by living.
Today, we lost another one to suicide. I have a heavy heart writing this.
According to the Washington Post, “Suicide rates rose in all but one state between 1999 and 2016, with increases seen across age, gender, race and ethnicity, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Mental illness, suicide, life, death. This is serious. This is a crisis.
Be kind to one another. Be empathetic. Care for one another. We never fully know the struggles that everyone goes through, alone in the quiet darkness. But maybe, just maybe, we can shine a little bit of light and life into each other’s lives.
RIP Tony. You will be missed.
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep.”