End of an Era

Tonight is the series finale of the Sopranos and, of course, I am headed over to the Ps for the event.

P and I have been doing this for almost three years - the Sunday night ritual of a big dinner and HBO viewing. In truth, however, the tradition began during the second season of the Sopranos. B and I would head over to our friends, the Greeks, and we would have a big, family style meal with them. The Greeks are two brothers who own a restaurant. Their mother and father were often there, as were assorted hangers on. You never really knew who was going to be there, but the drill was for each of us to switch off every week on the food preparations. As we all got into Sopranos, it became largely an Italian meal.

Also, at the time, I could only cook spaghetti, but goddamn if it isn't a kickass spaghetti. Especially if you like it meaty.

We did Sundays at the Greeks for years and it became one of the highlights of my week. We would all sit around a big table, passing around plate after plate, sharing stories of the week and generally relishing our extended family status. The Greeks are among our oldest friends and being with them really felt like being with family. Thinking about it, I am ashamed at how many unreturned phone calls I have from their mother, who, like everyone else in meatspace, I ignored during the course of our separation. It was heartbreaking to think of spending time with her, as she was part of the history that was being erased. She reached out to me so many times and I ignored her each and every time.

Am such an asshole. I will make in my only goal this week to call her and arrange to see her. Enough time has passed that I don't think we need to have the "what went wrong with B&K" discussion.

At some point after the separation, P and I started our own ritual. We didn't vary it by much - usually, either steak or salmon. If it is steak (me- ribeye, P- New York), it is steak, caprese salad, asparagus with lemon aioli. If it is salmon, it is king salmon, asparagus with lemon aioli and often a sweet potato or sweet corn. We always have a "little something" for dessert and always two bottles of wine - white to start, red with dinner.

See, e.g.:



vs.



As for the show itself, well, we've seen a few come and go. I don't suspect tonight's finale will rival the best of all time (Six Feet Under), but for sentimental reasons, the end of the show is personal to me. When I first fell in love with the characters, I was in an entirely different life. Although I miss elements of it, I am pretty secure in the one I have now.