The Bourgeois Pig, on Franklin Avenue, stands directly across the street from the Chateau Marmont look-alike, the Hubbard Celebrity Centre. The Pig makes a mediocre cup of coffee and the garage sale furniture that decorates the eclectic room blends well with the patrons, as they sit and read movie scripts that will never see the light of day. I would often visit this trendy java hole when my presence was needed in LaLa land.

Today I was meeting up with my friend Nick. We sat outside on unbalanced wrought iron chairs, smoking cigarettes and looking like the starving artists that we were as we conversed about things soon forgotten. The waiter behind the bar was familiar with me and knew my order. I took my too-dark chai tea and started making my way back to my seat outside when I spotted a familiar face. He was sitting talking to someone with his back to me.

I excused myself and told him that his friends back in TO send their regards. With a warm but curious smile he shook my hand and gave me a hug. I mentioned that my buddy and I were sitting outside and would love if he joined us. What are the chances three Italo-Canadians would wind up in Tinsel town chatting about their Toronto roots. Sounds like a potential sitcom. After about thirty minutes of laughter and conversation, which at times included the Calabrese dialect, my actor friends discovered that they had both worked on the same movie “ZOS: Zone of Separation” without ever meeting. The giant orange sun was calmly setting as the evening began to descend on us. We drank, we laughed and we became good friends that day, only to be brought together once again in celebration by the Italian Walk Of Fame.