Anthony Bourdain

I was not a follower of Anthony Bourdain, but when I woke up on the 8th and saw the news that he was dead, by suicide, I was stunned. It wasn't just that it was another celebrity suicide—his death but a few days after Kate Spade's. Even though I didn't follow Bourdain, I somehow knew him to be a life force. (Spade may have been too, in other circles—but not in mine. Which is not to say I'm not sad about her death too.)

David pointed out that Netflix has been carrying Bourdain's Parts Unknown TV show, about food and culture worldwide. And they were about to stop airing it. That prompted us to watch a couple of episodes: season 4, episode 4, on Hue, Vietnam; and 8.1, about Hanoi—simply because I was just in Vietnam and wanted to see his take on the place. Those two shows made me wish I'd gone on a culinary tour, and not a birding one. (Sorry, birds.) And that I'd known Anthony Bourdain in real life.

Today I spotted an article outlining the five not-to-be-missed episodes of the show. One was the Hanoi one I'd already seen. When David and I were considering what to watch this evening, I couldn't remember any other but the Bronx, and one in season 4. Turned out, they were one and the same: The Bronx, season 4, episode 2.

And there I learned a few things. First: hip-hop. Of course, I know that hip-hop exists, but I've never been quite clear on just what it is. Turns out (you probably know this), it's a culture, comprising four streams: rapping, DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. The fact that I didn't know it can be so neatly defined just goes to show how very white, not to mention old, I am. (Though so was Bourdain, so really, what's my excuse?) But now I know what hip-hop is. My world is a little larger. I always like it when my world gets a little larger.

Second, just the other day I saw a reference to something that I was similarly unfamiliar with, when my niece's husband wrote on Facebook, "RIP Juicebox - I'll seriously miss the news/social commentary of Desus & Mero on vice, props/kudos for moving on up to Showtime." I had no clue what that meant. (I still don't, to some degree.) And then, because I subscribe to Vanity Fair, I saw a reference to an article, "Desus and Mero Take Their Show on the Road." I took note because of the nephew's comment.

And then, tonight—or rather, four years ago—Anthony Bourdain had a nice sit-down meal with Desus ("Gotta hear both sides") Nice.

Seriously? Three times in one week, to run into a reference to Desus and Mero? I think I need to check these guys out.

Third: I want to keep following Anthony Bourdain around the globe. I love his mix of food love and cultural delving and passionate lust for life.  Thank you, Netflix, for not canceling his show but rather for keeping it going, for however long. I wish he could have visited more and more and more places, and told us about them and their special pleasures.

I'm so so very sorry the lust for life didn't buoy him through, that a darkness caught him and caused him to drown.... I'm so so sad about that, and about all the other suicides that happen every day.

The national suicide hotline number is 1-800-273-8255, available 24/7; for crisis support in Spanish, the number is 1-888-628-9454. For the TrevorLifeline, a suicide prevention counseling service for the LGBTQ community, call 1-866-488-7386.
Here's a good guide to how to cope with a potentially suicidal friend or family member.

Oh, and by the way: the other three "must see" episodes are  Beirut (5.8), Sicily (2.5), and South Korea (5.1).