Bizzaro anecdote to relay quickly - when we went out with my ‘rents & friends of fam for dinner, my uncle Jimmy picked his fav resto in TO - Bigliardi’s. Now, this used to be the happening spot pre & post Leafs games back in the day of the Gardens - unfortunately, the ACC took a huge chomp out of George B’s business…but, being the resilient Italian entrepreneur that he is - he’s offset these losses with a betting room…very Italian, eh?
Anyway, we’ve gone there a lot with Jimmy & he’s very well liked by George because he keeps patronizing the resto since the Leafs moving & refers many people (like us) there who keep going back….
Downside is that creepy Queen’s Park & politico types also LOVE this place with the Goodfellas atmosphere & admittedly amazing Italian food….Case in point, of the last 4 times I’ve been - I’ve spotted not-so-honourable-Mr. Eves there 3 times. Beh. So yeah, Eves & some biz dude were having a biz dinner, also-rans in provincial TO ridings, etc - but right after we were seated, who walks in but Mr. Early Morning Rain Himself - Gordon Lightfoot & fam. Brilliant! My mom & I exchanged WTF? glances excitedly, like all still-rockin’ septegenarian folk singers (looking at you, Willie), he has a hotter & younger wife & alarmingly young kids….
It only took a couple of minutes, but Mr. B’s wife brought over Lightfoot & introduced him to the table (well, to be honest, probably just Jimmy rockin’ the 100 watt Stanley Cup ring)…..now how effin’ civilized is this? Where else in TO would you have a resto as comfortable with their clientele to actually waltz people over & make connections? Lightfoot surprisingly told Jimmy that he enjoyed his interviews on the Fan 590 AM & was impressed by how he’s handled the lockout…Jimmy smiled nicely & shook his hand…..because he had no clue who GL was….hilarious.
I guess when you live in a music bubble there are just some people that are givens for instant recognition, respect & shameless introduce-ability…for me Lightfoot is definitely one of those cats (& Cohen, Mitchell, Shakey, etc)…it was so cool that Jimmy was pretty aloof about the whole thing & didn’t fake it…like most people would’ve…
Anyway, yesterday was moving & cleaning circle of hell after that brush with classic folk celebrity (& unwanted Ernie spotting) & today takes me back to work - Cinderellie, Cinderellie - fold that faux-vintage $65 T & perfectly ‘whiskered’ jeans…Not a job to appease the OCD tendencies in my system, fer sure…
peace
meegs
Currently reading:
Lot’s Daughters: Sex, Redemption, And Women’s Quest For Authority
By Robert M. Polhemus
Release date: By 15 January, 2005
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