Christopher Hitchens' wit and warmth remembered as New York pays tribute

The Guardian ^ | April 20, 2012 | Ed Pilkington

[firebrand]

Little Keith" called him a suffering auto-contrarian and likened him to Houdini; Graydon Carter said he was a "bit of a scallywag" but an editor's dream; and the doctor who treated him for the cancer of the oesophagus that killed him said he was a "pioneer at the frontier".

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Didn’t agree with Hitchens 100% of the time but I really miss reading what he had to write.

[firebrand]

He was a rare genius. I hadn’t known about this—I think they kept it quite secret, since Rushdie was going to be there.

[Aria]

I admired him greatly even when I disagreed with him.

However, his God is not Great was over the edge. I hope he now knows how wrong he was.

[firebrand]

I didn't read that one. But it's true, he didn't have the "one true thing," as they say in No Country for Old Men. He was greatly loved, and he always followed his conscience.

[TChad]

Victor Davis Hanson found himself with a ruptured appendix and peritonitis in, of all places, Libya.

Who do you call for help in such a circumstance?

Hanson's wife decided to call Christopher Hitchens, doubtless because she knew of his extraordinary international network of friends and acquaintances. Hitchens came through for VDH. Soon after his emergency surgery, Hanson was visited by a Libyan-American neurosurgeon and later by the American chargé d’affaires.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286976/goodbye-mr-hitchens-victor-davis-hanson

Had there been a problem with the surgery or post-op care, Hitchens' help might have saved Hanson's life.

[Vinnie]

Wit? Yes. Warmth? Uuuh..

[originalbuckeye]

Ditto. Really miss his take on everything other than religion. Did he have a conversion toward Jesus during the last months of his life? That is my recollection. But I may be mis-remembering.

[Notary Sojac]

I hope he now knows how wrong he was.

Why would you "hope" that?

Would you enjoy observing the suffering of the damned?

I would rather hope that there is mercy even after death.

[Aria]

You took it wrong.

I hope he is enjoying the grace of God.

[Notary Sojac]

My apologies. I stand corrected.

There are others on FR whose reaction to an unbeliever's death is not nearly so charitable. I mistakenly grouped you with them.