There are still enough of these for a few more days, and, surprisingly, a few are still trickling in. If you have something worth showing, do send it along.
Landon Ross sent in two pictures, and I decided to use both of them. In the first, he’s with Hitch:
One could tell he was always “on” by his eyes. The only words I can muster are “Christopher, I cared more about you than anyone I’ve never loved in person, and I’ll miss you.”
And the second from Landon:
Here’s my best (and lacking) approximation of the what-are-you-looking-at face he so often made. He’d probably have scoffed at anything more extravagant than JW Black, but, well, there you go. It’s all I had. Here’s to Hitch.
From Bertrand:
Here’s my participation. I’m calling it Inspiration.
Artwork and words from Gary K.
Hitch. I never read anything by him until God is Not Great and I have not stopped thinking about what he had to say there, in other articles, and in debates ever since. He was a wordsmith par excellence and more importantly, he took on religiosity, grabbing the bullshit by the horns. Reading him and others of his ilk such as Dawkins and Harris convinced me that we shall not escape our shackles until we stop playing with imaginary friends and taking instructions from them. Hitch told us to grow up. Thank you, Hitch, we needed that.
From David Glück, a photo perfectly expressing Hitch’s contrarianism:
Taken by my son at TAM5 with Hitchens help.
And from Carroll, lest we neglect that there was more than one restorative in Hitchens’s life:
I don’t do amber restoratives. I quit smoking. But I can follow Hitch’s advice to make sure the water is boiling before it hits the tea.
That tea should be made in a warmed pot if you want to get the best out of it…
Call me contrarian, but I fail to see how all the whiskey and cigarette images are a tribute of any sort. As I see it, Hitchens produced lucid and poignant prose in spite of these, and their acknowledged dangers, including oesophageal cancer. Arguably, he could have gone on much longer and more productively without them.
All the posted tributes have been great, I have one I would like to submit how do I go about it?
I did like his article about making tea. I prefer a black cup of joe, but will go for tea every now and then. Had to agree with his complaint about how he found it served in restaurants, that’s the same way I always found it served to me, at least in America. Water that was never boiled, just heated high, and served in an uninsulated metal carafe. So by the time it gets to your table you just have this tepid stuff to try to steep your tea in.
And the tea always seems to be Lipton. I had that kind as iced tea when all the sugar hides what you’re drinking, but it’s horrid when warm. Luckily, it can’t fully steep and get all the flavour because of the tepid water so I guess that’s good.
David that shot is close to perfect. Made me smile.
Landon, as far as I know Hitch drank no Scotch other than Johnny Walker Black. I remember reading where he didn’t think paying extra for Blue was anywhere near worth it. Johnny Walker Blue is the Scotch of choice of Saudi Sheiks and Princes.
bigjohn, I know. But it’s JW Green that I’m drinking, which, along with the gold, isn’t bad for a JW. I’d never go for a bottle of Blue.
Anyway I’m pretty much a single-scotch man myself (that being Ardbeg Uigeadail). The JW brand was only for Hitch’s memory.
Someone I’m subscribed to just posted this excellent tribute:
That photo of Hitchens standing in front of the “CAUTION: Do not stand in front of doors” sign is my favorite submission from these readers’ tributes so far, and by a wide margin.
That’s not to say the other submissions aren’t also enjoyable, but I just can’t think of a more perfect visual tribute for the ultimate contrarian.
And that look on his face made me LOL. Hitchens always seemed to make the perfect facial expressions in photos(the what-are-you-looking-at face tribute also addresses this point).