Originally Posted by
Kilgore Trout
Sanlmar is going to be devastated.
”I feel kind of like a freak and I feel very isolated. I communicate for a living but I'm terrible at communicating with people I care about."
- Anthony Bourdain
The man was a poet. He was endlessly speaking in metaphors and similes when talking about food or the restaurant industry.
His stock and trade was the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, using them to make a description more emphatic or vivid. There is a link in Druff’s CNN article to an essay Bourdain wrote in 1999 which I had not read before. There he is likening kitchens and criminal culture. Beautiful. Breathtaking.
Don’€™t Eat Before Reading This
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1...e-reading-this
To make these comparisons and write this way he had to be removed. He had to speak from a distance. He saw the absurdity, irony and randomness of life.
He was isolated. He saw himself as different. It was this gift that allowed his art.
I worked as a waiter as a kid. The restaurant was somewhat upscale. I did some light table side service. I’d finish the steak au poivre in front of the guests. Flaming drinks. I’d put on an act that I thought would suit my read of the customer. I was fascinated by the kitchen and the people. It was a gang and they knew I wasn’t one of their kind but they allowed me into their periphery and degeneracy.
The only reason I got that job with zero experience was the restaurant manager was gay and I was later told he had a crush on me. I played him too I suppose. I wasn’t like anyone in the building it turns out. This fellow drove a ‘71 Cadillac Eldorado convertible which tells you all you need to know.
Bourdain spoke of being terrible communicating with anyone I care about. Oh dear god, this is me.
I am in the health and fitness industry. Someone pulled me aside yesterday. They told me that members and employees have spotted me exiting a liquor store during the day. I go on jags of smoking. Never had a bad cigarette. People would like to think I am a closet alcoholic I presume. I am just buying a pack of fags. Health & fitness... just putting on an act like the kid waiter. I am not one of them, not really. Not sure how I’m going to spin out of this. Being guarded and isolated needs to be conducted with greater care.
Does being isolated and viewing life from a distance lead to depression? Bourdain lost his edge. Maybe that came with age. Edge takes energy and enthusiasm. Shame.
I gotta take this opportunity to plug Bourdain’s
Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent. Story of an isolated artist told by an isolated artist. It WAS magnificent.
Finally, I am touched Kilgore that you thought to include me here. You too possess the same sensibility as Bourdain in your own way. The Vonnegut and your own irony and artistry found here. I am flattered to be mentioned.
I am unaffected by almost all celebrity deaths but this one hits me hard.