I was already having an emotional evening. Then I found out that Hitchens had passed away. I noticed that he had passed when I checked my Facebook, realizing that it was covered in messages about the passing of this great man. At the very least, he didn't pass silently. His passing was signaled with a cacophony of Internet chatter, mourning the man whose words had moved all of us so profoundly. He passed as an atheist, moving bravely into that great silent abyss we inhabit before we are born. I will miss his punctual wit, his gruff chain smoking and whiskey drinking, and his ever-articulate charm.
