For Uncle Tony: A Letter of Appreciation

Sundays are really important to me. I’m a creature of habit, so typically my day starts with some R&B and a cup of coffee. I’ll do some laundry, tidy up around my condo, and check in on how my Eagles are doing. I’ll catch up on some emails and work from the past week, and then plan out my next week. I know what you’re thinking: I live a wild and crazy life. That typically takes me into the evening. And for the last five years, I always knew where I would be between 7:00-8:00 p.m. For an hour out of my week, I was transported to places I had never been, and my tour guide was always Uncle Tony.

Anthony Bourdain, who committed suicide in June while on location shooting his award-winning CNN docuseries, Parts Unknown, was many things: a renegade chef, a prolific author, a revolutionary TV host, and most importantly, an avid storyteller. Bourdain would spend each episode in an underrepresented pocket somewhere around the globe and recount his experiences. Food would serve as Bourdain’s vehicle to introduce his audience to not only unknown flavours and recipes, but to people, ways of life, and cultures otherwise unreachable.

Bourdain meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To his many adoring fans, he was a prime example of turning one’s curiosity about the world into a career. To the thousands he encountered during his travels, he was a humble dinner guest who always made one feel important and worthwhile. And to a select few, he was a creative genius who battled inner demons that ultimately consumed him.

To me, he was and always will be Uncle Tony: a wise teacher who challenged me to see the world through different eyes on a weekly basis. His episode in Manila inspired me to broaden the scope of my PhD research. His time in Uruguay showed me the importance of cooking for someone you love. His experiences in Vietnam reminded me to appreciate the small things in life, like a tiny plastic stool, a bowl of hot noodles, and a cold beer. 

The 12th and final season of Parts Unknown aired its first episode on Sunday, September 23, 2018. In this episode, Bourdain travelled to Kenya with CNN colleague and fellow host W. Kamau Bell. It was the last episode to be presented in the traditional Parts Unknown format with Bourdain’s narration. The remaining episodes, which will take audiences to Texas’s “Big Bend” area bordering Mexico, Spain’s mountainous Asturias region, Indonesia, and the Lower East Side of Manhattan, will have voice-over commentary provided by guests featured in each episode. The final two episodes of the season will pay tribute to Bourdain’s life and the lasting legacy of Parts Unknown.  

I had a really hard time coming to grips with Uncle Tony’s passing. Sure, he was a celebrity who I had never met in person, but he gave me and the rest of his audience such a vivid and candid look into his own personal life and perspective that I couldn’t help but feel like I’d lost a long-time friend.

The lesson I’ll keep with me from all those Sundays in front of my TV is a simple one: tell your story. Not anyone else’s, not the one somebody wants you to tell, but your own story. In Bourdain’s final address to his audience at the end of last week’s episode, he encapsulated this in a way only Uncle Tony could:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Who gets to tell the stories?
This is a question asked often.
The answer in this case, for better or for worse, is I do.
At least this time out. I do my best.
I look, I listen.
But in the end, I know it’s my story.
Not Kamau’s, not Kenya’s, or Kenyans.
Those stories are yet to be heard. [/perfectpullquote]

Thank you Uncle Tony, and may you finally rest in peace.