I find myself this afternoon sitting at my computer typing my first blog. That is not true. This is, in fact, my second blog. My first blog was just released a week ago. It was posted on my company website. Although parts of it were mine, I can’t say it was truly my blog. By the time that our marketing person completed editing it, it just had a few snippets of my original work. My original effort needed to include the appropriate keywords that would draw people to our website. It seems that SEO, that’s Search Engine Optimization for those of you who are new to inbound marketing, is everything these days. How else is anyone going to find your site in this endless expanse we call the web?
This first blog is really a cathartic exercise. I am sending out this message in a bottle into the digital void because today I feel abandoned on some desolate island. It seems that one of the few television personalities that I respect chose to end their life today. From the moment my palm-sized, grid connector alerted me to the breaking news, I have been struggling with the news of Anthony Bourdain’s premature departure from this fragile satellite we call home. How could someone who embraced living to the fullest want to leave before the credits?
I should not have liked this guy. The brash, chain-smoking, overtly opinionated, bad boy chef had far different formative years than myself. I never put a cigarette to my lips yet alone have an addiction to illicit drugs. Although I have plenty of scars I do not bear any tattoos. I was an altar boy for God’s sake. I’m pretty sure that if we ever had the privilege to meet, he would consider it a success if he found some way to get me landed in jail without remembering how I got there.
The reality is that I genuinely liked the person I saw on TV. In fact, I secretly wished I could be a little bit like him. I was naïve as to be envious of his job. I agreed with most of his politics. I appreciated his ability to relate with people from all different walks of life. Most importantly, I related to his understanding of what it means to be human.
One may assume that the static images displayed on this website mark the highlights of my travels. That is not further from the truth. Book-ended by the clicks of the shutter, my favorite travel memories are of my family. It seems like the most indelible moments were formed at some small restaurant well off the beaten tourist path. We communicated with the waiter by stitching together a few known phrases and pointing to an item. Never were we disappointed. To this day we still talk about gnocchi in Lavertezzo, suckling pig in Segovia, croquetas in Almeria, monkfish in Barcelona and squid ink paella in Ronda. More often than not, complimentary aperitifs would arrive after a casual three hour dinner. This was not only an acknowledgement that we had not outstayed our welcome, it was a simple gesture of appreciation for embracing our host's culture.
Anthony Bourdain will be remembered for many things. I will remember him as our country’s most effective ambassador. At a time when the conversation revolves around building walls, he encouraged us to cross borders. Although irreverent himself, he taught us to respect other diverse cultures. He showed us that when we remove the blindfold of prejudice, we humans share so much common ground, regardless of race, religion or politics.
I am not sure that I feel any better having completed my first blog. But there is an outside chance that if someone types into Google “irreverent + pig + wall”, SEO may direct them to this blog. It is my hope that we will all be reminded that we can’t “make America great again” until we treat each other as Anthony Bourdain showed us. I have no reservations about that.
