T. & Sympathy

I once asked a casting director a question
She couldn’t ignore:
“Is there is a certain type of actor you’re
Always looking for?”

Geri Windsor smiled sweetly --- as if it were
Somewhat absurd of
Me not to know: “A great one around forty
Who no one’s heard of.”

That elusive commodity is still sought after now and
It wasn’t luck but Fate
That 37-year-old James Gandolfini met David Chase
Back in 1998.

Off they went & we all hopped in the back seat of
“The Sopranos” car. Is
It not true that Gandolfini became a star but also
Redefined what a star is?

I had looked forward to his future acting career & hoped
That Gandolfini would eventually play
Roles by lugs like Paul Douglas and Broderick Crawford
In “Clash By Night” & “Born Yesterday.”

But what might've been isn’t what’s important right now ---
What was the hand we’ve been dealt?
Seeing one of our greatest actors in one of the greatest roles
Who made us feel things we’d never felt.