Some Unfortunate News.

Today I learned that a man I greatly admire, journalist and author Christopher Hitchens, has been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer (I imagine years of being a heavy smoker was probably a contributing factor) and will undergo chemotherapy in order to treat it. Apparently the five year survival rate for this particular disease is less than 5 percent, so it is with great displeasure that I write this entry. I have been an admirer of Hitchens for a while now as a writer, an orator and a debater. While I do not agree with everything he says, he often makes compelling arguments for his positions, which is definitely admirable. I sincerely hope that I will not soon have to write an entry wherein I refer to Hitchens in the past tense. All I can do in the meantime is to read as much of his writing as I can get my hands on (something I have already started with great enthusiasm). I am currently in the middle of reading his book Why Orwell Matters, and I hope to soon get a copy of his memoir Hitch-22. Not that this message in a scarcely read blog will find its way to him but I will close by saying: Get well soon, Hitch.