We should mark the occasion, partly because this is a rare instance of believers and infidels being kinda sorta united in a spiritual cause and partly because, from the sound of things, he might not have much time left. A grim detail buried way down in the AP’s write-up of its interview with him:

The cancer that began in Hitchens’ esophagus already has spread into the lymph nodes in his neck, and he fears it has reached a lung. He’s visibly tired after a book signing and luncheon appearance and says he needs to rest, even though resting seems like such a waste of time when so little time may be left.

Already into his fourth round of chemotherapy, which he is receiving every three weeks, Hitchens says it’s difficult to gauge his eventual legacy. He hopes to be remembered with affection by some; with passion by others; and hopefully as a good father by his three children.

As for his work, Hitchens says he would be happy to be recalled simply as one of those “who are attempting to uphold reason and science against superstition.”

Watching the vid, it struck me that he looks a bit now like Gore Vidal, who may or may not have once described Hitch as his literary heir before Hitchens righteously destroyed him for being a lowlife Truther and McVeigh apologist. If you’re inclined to pray, now’s the time.