The Gandolfini Saga
This weekend was the Bacchus ball in New Orleans, Bacchus being a very large and relatively prestigious Mardi Gras Krewe. For those unfamiliar with the Krewe concept, they function similarly to a fraternity. You have to be invited to join, they're usually pretty homogenous groups in terms of social rank/income, and you pay giant dues which fund several massive parties and a parade come Mardi Gras time. Bacchus has heavy-duty dues and as a consequence, an extremely extravagant parade float-wise and some very nice parties. This also means that their parade rolls close to Mardi Gras and has a route that takes it right down Canal Street-- the classic parade route which is reserved for the big-deal Krewes. This also means that when the Krewe picks their "King" each year (almost always a celebrity), they have the leverage to get some pretty big names. The King's main job is to ride on the float and wave to the crowd and throw beads, but he also attends several parties and does a little charitable work while he's in town for Mardi Gras. The past couple years' King Bacchuses were Elijah Woods and Sean Astin, last year Willy Nelson played at the ball, etc etc. This year's King was James Gandolfini.
I have the extremely good fortune to have a wonderful friend, Frick, who had the good fortune to marry a New Orleans native, Ryan, whose father is a long-standing Bacchus member. In fact, Ryan is now in Bacchus himself and is a Riding Lieutenant (he has to dress as a roman soldier in a hot, heavy costume and sit on a horse for 5 hours without a break during the parade-- which he understandably considers a dubious honor). This means that Frick and Ryan can invite pals to go to the Ball and some of the parties. And this year, they asked us if we wanted to come. Of course we were all over it (or at least I was and John knew better than to rain on my parade). So, a few weeks ago Frick and I went ballgown shopping and John rented a tux and we went up Saturday afternoon and crashed in Frick and Ryan's hotel room. By then, I had already received an ecstatic phone call from Frick saying that she had asked James Gandolfini to dance at the King's party (btw, apparently his buddies call him Jim) and that they had danced to a fast song and he had kissed her on the cheek and chatted with her. This made me super-motivated to get me some Gandolfini. He was clearly going to be one of those kings who proved to be approachable and generous with his time and attention!
Sunday morning was the King's brunch and Ryan's dad had gotten us tickets (he paid for everything-- the hotel, the ball tickets, and the brunch tickets, and the thank you note he is going to get is going to be no laughing matter!). So I got a little dolled up and we all went down for a luxe breakfast buffet in a huge hotel ballroom with the liquor flowing and a jazz band playing. I was in heaven. An hour or so into the brunch, there began to be some activity in the velvet-roped-off area where the King's tables had been sitting empty. So Frick, who was my number one Gandolfini-gettin' booster, and I went over and grabbed a spot by the rope so we'd have a good chance of contact if James was generous about doing a meet and greet. Soon after, a big old crowd gathered behind us and around us, so we were either trend-setters or else had great timing. Soon enough, one of the founders of Bacchus came up and made a speech about how James was absolutely one of the kindest, sweetest, and most generous Kings they'd ever had. How he had been phenomenal at Children's Hospital. How he had raised far more than average for the Hospital. And in general, how different he was from Tony Soprano and how wonderful. By this time, I was literally shaking with glee and hope. Then the founder guy called out Artie Bucco who waved and smiled about 15 feet from me, and then Bobby Baccala (ditto), and then out came James!!!! He threw loads and loads and loads of James Gandolfini doubloons, many of which I snagged and one of which landed directly in my arms (squeeee!), and then he started working his way around the ropes.
He's obviously a pretty shy guy, and not at all Mr. Look at Me, so I think he was a little uncomfortable, but he was game. He gave autographs and took pictures and chatted all the way around to where we were. First he got to Frick, and signed a little card for her. Then he got to me!! Well, ladies and gents, I strapped on a pair of brass ones and said "Can I give you a hug?" and he said "I'm all sweaty, baby!" (and I die of ecstasy because he just called me baby) but he opened his arms and let me hug him and I gave him a kiss on his big sweaty cheek because I RULE! And then I got an autograph and told him thank you, and that I was excited to meet him because he was a such a talented actor, and he said "thank you" and then I got out of the way so that some of the other folks could get some good lovin' too. Then at the ball that night I got to see him roll by up close again! SQUEEEEEE!
I also splurged on a limited-edition print of this year's Bacchus poster.... Signed by James! Woot!
È questa é la storia di como ho ricontrato Tony Soprano! And lived to tell about it! All in all, it was a wonderfully fun experience from start to finish and I am so grateful to have had it! Frick RULES!
I have the extremely good fortune to have a wonderful friend, Frick, who had the good fortune to marry a New Orleans native, Ryan, whose father is a long-standing Bacchus member. In fact, Ryan is now in Bacchus himself and is a Riding Lieutenant (he has to dress as a roman soldier in a hot, heavy costume and sit on a horse for 5 hours without a break during the parade-- which he understandably considers a dubious honor). This means that Frick and Ryan can invite pals to go to the Ball and some of the parties. And this year, they asked us if we wanted to come. Of course we were all over it (or at least I was and John knew better than to rain on my parade). So, a few weeks ago Frick and I went ballgown shopping and John rented a tux and we went up Saturday afternoon and crashed in Frick and Ryan's hotel room. By then, I had already received an ecstatic phone call from Frick saying that she had asked James Gandolfini to dance at the King's party (btw, apparently his buddies call him Jim) and that they had danced to a fast song and he had kissed her on the cheek and chatted with her. This made me super-motivated to get me some Gandolfini. He was clearly going to be one of those kings who proved to be approachable and generous with his time and attention!
Sunday morning was the King's brunch and Ryan's dad had gotten us tickets (he paid for everything-- the hotel, the ball tickets, and the brunch tickets, and the thank you note he is going to get is going to be no laughing matter!). So I got a little dolled up and we all went down for a luxe breakfast buffet in a huge hotel ballroom with the liquor flowing and a jazz band playing. I was in heaven. An hour or so into the brunch, there began to be some activity in the velvet-roped-off area where the King's tables had been sitting empty. So Frick, who was my number one Gandolfini-gettin' booster, and I went over and grabbed a spot by the rope so we'd have a good chance of contact if James was generous about doing a meet and greet. Soon after, a big old crowd gathered behind us and around us, so we were either trend-setters or else had great timing. Soon enough, one of the founders of Bacchus came up and made a speech about how James was absolutely one of the kindest, sweetest, and most generous Kings they'd ever had. How he had been phenomenal at Children's Hospital. How he had raised far more than average for the Hospital. And in general, how different he was from Tony Soprano and how wonderful. By this time, I was literally shaking with glee and hope. Then the founder guy called out Artie Bucco who waved and smiled about 15 feet from me, and then Bobby Baccala (ditto), and then out came James!!!! He threw loads and loads and loads of James Gandolfini doubloons, many of which I snagged and one of which landed directly in my arms (squeeee!), and then he started working his way around the ropes.
He's obviously a pretty shy guy, and not at all Mr. Look at Me, so I think he was a little uncomfortable, but he was game. He gave autographs and took pictures and chatted all the way around to where we were. First he got to Frick, and signed a little card for her. Then he got to me!! Well, ladies and gents, I strapped on a pair of brass ones and said "Can I give you a hug?" and he said "I'm all sweaty, baby!" (and I die of ecstasy because he just called me baby) but he opened his arms and let me hug him and I gave him a kiss on his big sweaty cheek because I RULE! And then I got an autograph and told him thank you, and that I was excited to meet him because he was a such a talented actor, and he said "thank you" and then I got out of the way so that some of the other folks could get some good lovin' too. Then at the ball that night I got to see him roll by up close again! SQUEEEEEE!
I also splurged on a limited-edition print of this year's Bacchus poster.... Signed by James! Woot!
È questa é la storia di como ho ricontrato Tony Soprano! And lived to tell about it! All in all, it was a wonderfully fun experience from start to finish and I am so grateful to have had it! Frick RULES!