The Sopranos.

I'm gonna miss this show. Not only was it written, acted, and directed superbly, it also gave me a glimpse into another world - a world I know nothing about. New Jersey! Hey, I'm southern, and it's not like Mississippi has not had its ghosts and demons, but we don't have the Mafia per se. We also don't have baked ziti. Through all the violence and sex I was always craning my neck to see what in the world they were eating. I even got Junior's CD and would make spagetti to it and drink red wine to it, but... I'm not Italian. I spent three weeks in Italy once when I was 20 years old. An Italian soldier gave me his medal on a wind-swept hill overlooking Rome. That was really cool. I gained ten pounds walking from the pizza stand to the ice cream stand over and over while sight-seeing and going into these unbelievably ancient cathedrals and museums. The ART! The Food! The Clothes! The Italian MEN! I first found out I have fear of heights in an ancient church in Rome climbing ladders and steep stairs to the very top where you looked down and the nuns with candles looked so tiny like ants.

So anyway, I love The Sopranos, mostly cause it was great drama with well-developed and surprising characters. James Gandolfini is wonderful, and I hope he goes on to be a huge film star, but Tony Soprano was a role of a lifetime. I know he whacked people and cheated on his wife, but there is something about his character that will always make me remember the ducks and peyote in the desert.

Tony, I'm glad I didn't see you in a pool of blood. I'm glad you live on.