One of my favorite writers of the last 30 years was Tony Bourdain. He was the Hunter S Thompson, of food and travel writing. His style was descriptive and direct. He seldom held back what he was thinking. He was gonzo journalism for food, travel and adventure. If he liked something it was clear what he liked, why he liked it, and how he liked it. If he hated something - he didn't mince words or say polite things, he let you know why he thought the thing, person or place was crap. You didn't have to agree with him, to understand what he meant. I think Rachael Ray was fun to watch, but I agree (and she would also) that she was not trained as a professional chef - despite the fact that she was a "Food Network Star."
He recognized, in the words of Jimmy Buffett* that "we are all flawed individuals." Tony's writing echoed the human struggle for comfort, adventure, love and acceptance, in incredibly honest terms.
I would like to write more like Tony did. With less restraint and more directness. I tend to be careful to protect people's feelings, to describe things politely. I tend to overlook the obvious details, that most people overlook, and we are surprised when we hear them. Most of the time, as my grandfather would have described it, "I wouldn't say shit if my mouth was full of it."
It took me several years to forgive Tony for offing himself (he hung himself in a hotel room.) He had so much talent, and from the outside what looked like a great life. He was a romantic, whose life and work challenged normal relationships - he traveled about half of the year. Add in a couple of toxic relationships, and he felt unloved and outright rejected. The object of his affection was glad to take his money, and tell him to go screw himself. It is sad, but he felt backed into a corner and he couldn't find a way out. His adoring fans, didn't fill the hole in his heart.
While we are traveling this spring, I have a month of posts written ahead. This gives me time to work on writing in a different style. Morphing the Thursday Ramble or Freestyle Fridays into what do I really think when I lower the filters. That month starts today.
*Jimmy was another amazing writer, a little more restrained but he clearly understood how to find pleasure in the midst of hell.
I never read anything he wrote but I love that he didn't mince words. If you're going to write why hold back?
ReplyDeleteI am so polite. He wrote a bio of Typhoid Mary, an interesting read.
DeleteWhy not write frankly. You are and person educated in the ways of the world, good and bad, you've travelled, you've had plenty of life experience. You don't have a barrow to push, nor do argue anything illogical.
ReplyDeleteIllogic drives me crazy.
DeleteThat wood looks petrified. Wonder what scared it. Looking forward to your explorations in writing without holding back.
ReplyDeleteYes, petrified wood.
DeleteGo wild, David, GO WILD! Ditch that cautious lawyer persona!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to do, after all of these years.
DeleteI have some petrified wood bookends. One side is a matte finish, the other is shiny. Looking forward to your new writing style. Bon voyage!
ReplyDeleteI have a small piece, someplace, that I bought near the Grand Canyon.
DeleteI, too, enjoyed Bourdain though oddly enough, considering how his life ended, it was his zest for life that was so contagious.
ReplyDeleteSafe, fabulous travels and write how YOU want to write!
Tidying up around the house, waiting for our ride to the airport.
DeleteBon voyage!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteWhen I heard about Bourdain's death, I was confused and sad. How could anyone with such a zest for life do such a thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading your upcoming posts.
There was a bio published in the last couple of years, that had a deep explanation. It is on one of my read books lists.
DeleteIt is sad the number of people we have lost to suicide.
ReplyDeleteHave I mentioned I worked with Rachael Ray when I was in my 20s?
I used to write with more candor, until co-workers and family found my blog and things got awkward. I lost friends over it. After I retire, I may consider returning to candidness. It is exhausting trying to please everyone.
Have a safe and fun trip.
Sassybear
https://idleeyesandadormy.com/
For years I was careful because of work, and I still have a lot of stories there that will never be told. I did piss someone off because of a comment I made on the blog, resulting in a major overreaction.
DeleteTravelling mercies.
ReplyDeleteWill Jay
The flight to Florida was uneventful. The hotel is comfy.
DeleteI knew nothing of Anthony Bourdain until I read this blogpost. Then I went to read about him courtesy of Wikipedia. His suicide seemed to come out of the blue and I am still not clear how exactly he took his own life.
ReplyDeleteThe details were kept very confidential. He had a young daughter at the time. A bio was published a couple of years ago that explained a lot of the backstory, but no details on the act. He paid a financial settlement to young man who had accused a woman he was infatuated with of sexual assault, and the woman told him to go away and leave her alone, she was sleeping with other men. He published several books about the restaurant industry and about his adventure travels. A a bio of Typhoid Mary - why - she was a cook by profession - who kept infecting the families she worked for.
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