My respect for a cynical man...Anthony Bourdain

I have watched him for years.  Funny thing, I hate arrogance, I avoid it, but, unless it has justification, or a high I.Q behind it, I generally post it to the memo board in my life of "Avoid at all costs"

Anthony is cynical, yes, and is a pure product of the NYC.  Hell, you cant work or obtain the status he had without being a bit arrogant.  But then again, what separates the genuine, from the arrogance of "I'm covering or compensating for something category" is the simple fact of this.  Those that are genuinely deserving of the title will be self apparent, IF you are observant enough to recognize it.

I am not going to sit here and give a dating/philosophical debate/explanation on it.  Suffice it to say, you see it or you dont.  And those that don't usually end up fascinated or dominated by the wanna be, im covering, arrogant individuals.  Hell, Ive seen people ruined by getting involved with them, ....but granted, they were not educated, prepared or knowledgabl enough to either deal with it or see it to either avoid it or

Nuff Said...hehe  ohhhh damn the southern accent.  SHOOT ME IF I SAY YA'ALL again.  ok ok ok back to subject

Ok OK  Ive meet a lot of celebs over the decades.  Hell, you might not know the band, but I was married to a bad finger person.  P.S  HMMMMM Badfinger you ask?  If you dont know you either dont know who Im talking about...a.k.a u r to young, or you didnt listen to that......(Powers forbid....back then you were either listening to Disco or country....sighs...ok ok giving away age status here)

Hmmmmm.,.....Vie, Nugent, Page, Plant, Cooper, Tate, DeGarmo....and TONS more.  If u know the makes, then u understand.  Ok Ok...back to the point.  This is after all my Bourdain page.

BTW...have to mention....favorite scene on No Reservations?  The Axe going into the C.D of ABBA....hehe and the Jail scene that followed.

The "Hershey Highway" cooked on a open flame in africa....PURE again PURE and exceptional fortaatude to eat all of that.  But I have to say, the beetles in the thorn trees?  I am SOOOOOO glad he found something to eat there that did not taste bad......

Just thought of something....for the 15+ years visitors to my domains.....to give you a clue...he is on this page...well never mind...WATCH the show....You will get it.....

Any HOOOOOOO

it has been a pleasure, and honor, and the sense of knowing that I'm witnessing the transformation of a hardened New Yorker, being transformed into a diplomat of the human race......the Way? The Force? The path?  Simple, ask your self, what do all people, and life forms do?  EAT

Anthony, weather he knows it or not, is a diplomat....rather than me explaining.....read what I posted......

I am a avid buyer of episodes, sighs, what can I say, I can’t get enough of the raw honesty, and have seen your career take off admirably, And in turn watched and listened as you grew aware of your fellow man through your pursuit of how the culinary world is a common link that binds all of us on a basic level with it being the common language to all.

You have been gracious no matter where you were and what was served was accepted with thanks (a particular fire roasted poop shoot comes to mind, yet you still partook of what was obviously a CDC nightmare and no doubt crawling with things not found in many places).   It has been inspiring to know that a man who was so ingrained with a NYC point of view and attitude, could open his eyes to the world the way you have.  In a way, you have shown that he most cynical person can indeed open his eyes and know there is more on this planet than your surrounding and culture of where you live.  And I watched with great pleasure as you visited place to place, changing with every experience, growing in many ways.

But Anthony, I am not one to post on boards, but I had to, what you said on the end of the episode I just watched, your last sentence, well, shocked me that you said them after everything you have seen, most particularly, after what you went through in filming it.

I will get to the point after saying this.  I sort of have the same experience.  Not the bombing, but certainly the isolation, the feeling of “OH S*%IT  how am I getting back home.  You see, I was in a different country when Regan was shot, a part of Europe that was just allowing limited people to come a short way into that country to visit, a then Communist country.  There is a horrible feeling when your bus driver stops, pulls over, and tells you that The American president has been shot.  Needless to say, I got home after a time, but I wanted to say, I understand watching what happened to you emotionally, and the despair.

As if you haven’t guessed,  am speaking of the Beirut episode.  I loved it, it was eloquently done, and reminded viewers of what that place had strived to become, yet showed the emotional deadening that has happened to the people of that city. I was amazed to learn through by watching it, is that you heard the gunshots that started it all, that was profound, and  I also saw his face fall when the car drove by with the flag, and your words were an absolute complement to what was going on, and the emotion involved.  

One word to describe the professionalism, the absolute honesty that came from that show…..OUTSTANDING!!!  But Anthony, to say that both the good and bad are on a wheel getting crushed, that was so, well, to put it simplistically, so beneath you.  You see beyond that, I know you do.  I am analyzing it in my mind, and all that I can ascertain, is that it had to be because of the high levels of stress, and all that you saw, topped on top of the inconvenience it caused you. 

Yes, I said that word.  Think of the Americans that did not have your guardian angel getting you to that hill top hotel, think of the Americans that were down there that had to make it on their own to the embassy and arrange escape.  You and your crew were blessed, you were being watched out for in some way or another.  Call it your corporate masters, or whatever, but you got out in 9 days.  And imagine the individuals that lost possessions, say for example, a passport.

Enough of that train of thought.  But remember this.  Humans fight, and up until that point you were lucky.  You have been in some less that politically stable countries.  Heck, even ones that gave you a hard time even though you were showing a aspect of their culture that bonded all humans. 

Don’t change Anthony, but realize it or not, through your words and show, you are showing something you cant see on the media very often, a common ground that we all share.  And in doing what you are doing, those that have been paying attention, have been watching and listening, and through you, see the possibility of a person like you from the 90’s can grow into someone with open eyes, and represents the best in humanity to all the places you visit, and in doing so, touch every one you interact with and leave them with, for a change, a hopeful prospect for the human condition.

Your admirer, whom you have gained respect from

Morgana