‘Anthony Bourdain Should be an ER Doctor’
“Anytime you can walk in another person’s shoes, the
world is a slightly better place.”
- Anthony
Bourdain
I
have never met Anthony Bourdain and I am almost positive that I never will. However, if I ever casually bump into him on
the street while he chows down on some meat in tube form, I wouldn’t mind
buying him a drink - or two since I have seen the way he can hold his liquor.
I am not a fan of reality TV. I think that it is a shallow form of
entertainment that has little to no social or educational value. In fact, it symbolizes what I believe to be
the problems of this country perfectly.
Vanity, selfishness, greed and gluttony are the overriding themes of
these shows as well as our society as a whole.
Mr. Bourdain’s show ‘No
Reservations’, which recently had its ‘final tour’ on the Travel Chanel followed
the chef around the world sampling the vast variety of foods from countless
cultures and people that the majority of us will never get the chance to
experience. On the surface, it was another
TV station’s attempt at a higher rating share, however there is a deeper value
to ‘No Reservations’, one that has a
much greater meaning than watching a typical American, ignorant of the world
around them, stuff his face with exotic deliquesces and not so delicate eats. Tony’s show gave us a glimpse of the human
aspects of other people who live in vastly different worlds. Despite the apparent differences we may have
with these people, ‘No Reservations’ simmered to the surface what makes us all
alike. It brought to a boil the common
ingredients that can help us build relationships, rather than see only the
differences that make it so easy to hate and prejudge.
The
majority of the show’s value did not come from its theme, but stemmed from its
host, and the manner in which Mr. Bourdain approached his position within the cultures
and the people he encountered. Despite
his personal success and privilege, he demonstrated appreciation and respect to
all those he met. Whether he ate at a 5-star
restaurant in France or sat down beside an open fire with a poor tribe in
Africa barely fighting off starvation, Mr. Bourdain showed respect and
admiration for those who were willing to share, not only their food, but a
taste of their culture. In essence, these
people invited Tony and the world to experience who they are and where they come
from. I believe Tony truly understood
this gift and appeared humble before his hosts.
That is a quality that I have to admire, and it is an underlying theme
that came through on each of his episodes.
Despite his ability to be humble, I think Tony truly owes
his success as a writer and as a TV host, not because of the modest side of his
conscious (modesty is not rewarded in our culture), but because of his sarcastic
whit and desire to point out the obnoxious and idiotic. He is quick to verbally assault anyone who is
playing the part of the fool – and that includes himself. More often than not he makes light of his own
faults. He is willing to laugh at
himself, which in my opinion gives him the right to laugh at everyone else.
I am not trying to plug Tony’s former show or his new one
‘The Layover’, but rather outline a
set of personal qualities that I see in the host; character traits that I
believe would make an excellent Emergency Room physician. I have been practicing Emergency Medicine for
a long time and l have come across all different personalities in both those
who practice medicine and those on the receiving end.
With today’s social mentality of ‘Me, Myself and I’ and
the corporate approach of medical administrators who believe that patients are
simply customers, ER doctors need to walk a fine line between compassion, jaded
suspicion and a symbolic slap across the face to patients who are abusive to
the themselves and often the staff of people whom they came to seek care from.
Anthony
Bourdain has the character to deal with all ‘characters’ that walk through ER
doors. He can feel for the suffering and
their families, care for the sick, stay professional with the bizarre, be frank
with tough love when needed even when the patient doesn’t want to hear the
truth, and smack down with the abusive, selfish soles that plague the ER
everyday with non-emergent conditions.
When
a child is brought through your door and despite your best efforts never takes
another breath, a piece of everyone working in that ER dies with them. Tony seems to have the capacity to be
compassionate for the family that must endure and the heart to fight another
day. Caring for someone that you know is
dying takes courage, strength and sympathy, and the TV star shows these
qualities every week. If Tony can eat a piece of tripe still laced
with the taste of the animal’s back end, smile at his host and not only thank
them for their hospitality, but ask for seconds, then he has what it takes to
listen to a patient complain of anything – such as a dildo stuck up their back
end – and never show a sign of ‘what the fuck were you thinking you freak of
nature’ on his face. He’d have the
frankness to tell the truth to the quarter-ton patient who can’t understand why
they get short of breath walking to their refrigerator, and tell it like it is
to the drug seeker who claims to need more Percocet for the 10th
time that month.
To
work in the ER takes a special breed of person.
Someone who is confident with a hint of insecurity; serious with a
generous amount of jocularity; naïve yet doubtful; trusting with an equal
amount of doubt. In other words – not
too hard and not too soft, just right. I
have the utmost respect and admiration for all my colleagues, and I want to
take this moment to tell you all – I FEEL YOUR PAIN!
And
if Anthony Bourdain is just right for the job of doctor, then maybe someday I
could become a cook, or possibly even a writer.
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