Growing up in Suburbia America I never truly had a childhood hero or role model that really stood out. Sure, being from Up-State New York I was into the New York sports teams, but I never recall idolizing Patrick Ewing or Derek Jeter. Frankly I never really thought to idolize anyone for their ability to throw a ball or run fast. That stuff just never really made sense to me.
Now I've been traveling for almost twelve years. I haven't watched TV regularly since I was sixteen. Being detached from pop culture you often find yourself highly knowledgeable in other things and not being able to pick out Justin Beber from a line up. I only just heard about Bourdain from a friend several years ago. So I watched one show of his from his first series "No Reservations" and immediately thought this guy reminds me of myself!
He values the same things I value and has a huge thirst to try new things, see new places, and experience the next adventure. Soon after seeing this first episode I downloaded the entire series. Over the last couple years I've downloaded every show he ever produced.
It was like watching a show made just for me with my exact interests. I often saw him in places that I already visited and I would instantly get excited. We've eaten in some of the same remote restaurants in totally random parts of the world. One of my favorite shows he did in the past few years was filmed in South Korea. Wow did that bring back memories!
I finished watching his latest episode just a few months ago. To learn about his passing last week really made me sad; sad in a way that no other celebrity passing has ever made me feel. At that moment I realized I lost the child hood hero that I never had. Anthony Bourdain your spirit lives on in this traveler and many others around the world. You will always be remembered.
