I’ve lost a few friends to suicide. At their funerals, I was fascinated by how many people were suddenly experts on life and death.

We lost a few brothers here over the years.

I’ve worked so many death scenes they all bleed together. I even managed to prevent a few; other times, I got there 10 seconds too late, heard the pop, saw the flash, and saw blood and grey matter spray down a dashboard.

Sometime I thought the person was an asshole. At other times, I “got it”.
Sometimes, it can be selfish. Sometimes, it hurts knowing that someone you loved opted out early because of a situation that might have been overcome. At other times…who’d want to spend months in agonizing physical pain, bankrupting the family to get a few extra months? Maybe.

There’s something to be said about making your death your last active decision (Dostoevsky said it much better than I can).

Bourdain is one of those guys who’s death left the world with a little less color.

And if you have a feeling about a friend, family member, talk to them. Sometimes a person knowing that another wants him to be alive is all that keeps a person from going over that ledge.