for a smile they can share the night, it goes on and on and on and on…

So I was flying from New Orleans to New York last night, and who did I wind up sitting next to on the plane? That’s right, Internet; none other than Tony Soprano himself, one Mr. James Gandolfini.

We didn’t talk much during the flight, I suspect because he didn’t want me to yell at him about the bullshit way the series ended (and so help me god I was so going to yell at him so hard had he brought it up), but here’s where things get weird: once we’d landed and were free to use our cell phones, pagers and two-way devices (but not our laptops), his phone rang and OMG he had the exact same ringtone as me!!!

We just sort of looked at each other and grinned and, instantly, we both knew we’d made a real connection. We just knew. It’s as if we’d known each other our entire lives, and could carry on an entire conversation without ever muttering a word. We simply got each other.

And as we made our way to the ground transportation area at LaGuardia, he headed for a private car and I for the taxi stand, we paused for a second or two in reflection of our newfound camaraderie, exchanged a quick fist bump, then he leaned in and whispered something I’ll never forget, no matter how long I live I’ll never forget:

“Bros before hoes.”

Bros before hoes indeed, Tony Soprano. Bros before hoes indeed.

Of course, by “sitting next to” I mean “fourteen rows and the little curtain that separates first class from coach away from,” and by “his ringtone” I mean “someone’s ringtone that, to be honest, sounded like it was coming from behind me but I can’t be too certain because my hearing’s kind of shot thanks to all that goddamned rock’n’roll music so who knows?” But still…

Nice guy, that James Gandolfini.