Anthony Bourdain

A man who calls a spade a spade is a man we look up to. Yes, some will people will  be insulted, others will be turned off by his eloquent use of profanity but in the end no matter how we feel, we are comfortable with what he says, a real honest guy from Jersey. You see those of us that were raised in the tri state area, New York Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, survival of the fittest applies. To get what we want, we have to be brutally honest. Yes, maybe a little too aggressive in our approach and yes, we may cause a few arguments but we are a product of our environment.
Anthony Bourdain was this kind of guy. He called it like it is. Although a chef by trade, he started at the lowest rung in the culinary world, dishwasher and slowly made it up to chef. So, he knows what its like to work hard and be rewarded for his efforts. He took his talent to write a few articles, recognized for his travel to various places in the world but what made him stand out from all the other cooking, travel shows, he took time to get to know the people. the culture and the history. One person brought just a little change to the world by sharing the world's cuisine. 
One person was able to bridge political, ethnic and cultural difference just by talking while eating the native foods. For that brief moment in time, there was an understanding of our countries differences, just like that, breaking bread over a delicious scrumptious meal.
Some cultures demand strangers try their food, and once he did, that opened a pandora's box of curiosity that the people were more than happy to share.
Anthony, did it all, a one hour show brought a different view of people throughout the world, We actually have something in common , food!, Food can be considered the great communicator.
Building walls, polarizing ourselves from the world, gated communities in our country only isolates ourselves from our fellow Americans. Yes, if you break our laws, there will be consequences but in America, unlike other countries, you create your destiny and if a food business is what your good at, and there is a demand, why not, food speaks all languages with a smile, happiness.
So to always remember this great man and the effect he had on all of us, I encourage each one of us to try an exotic and ask questions about the proprietor or how the dish is made and you'll be surprise how small our world is really is. You don't need to take a plane trip to Thailand, check out the local restaurants and you'll be surprised. Sometimes the best places for authentic foods are those places that are considered a "hole in the wall."
I'd like to suggest in Rosedale, MD there is this restaurant called Chop Stix that during the week from 11-3 PM or Saturday and Sunday from 10-3 PM they serve this Chinese breakfast called Dim Sum (like Spanish Tapas) that a lady rolls a cart with delicious steam or fried dumplings of various shapes and textures and its served like 3-4 pieces on each plate allowing you to try different types. Then if your still hungry, my favorite is the chicken pan fried noodles with a side of red vinegar. Yummy
Antony Bourdain, did what he loved but blended it with his personality and curiosity to present interesting issues while political in nature, we got to be there right with him as he explored foreign lands and that had an effect on me.
Chef Woo Can at Chefwoocan.com