I remember the moment like it was yesterday. Among the sea of caps and gowns, over the illustrious strains of Pomp & Circumstance… there he was, James Gandolfini, sitting one row behind my family at my college graduation. I could hear the buzz building behind me, as people started to notice. Why is he here? Is he speaking? Does he know someone who’s graduating?

The fact that a celebrity was sitting among us was clearly the highlight for the thousand or so graduates on that day, some nine years ago, on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

We’ve all done it. Admit it. You’ve walked into a movie theatre or arena of some sort – one with “No Outside Food Or Drink Permitted” signs clearly plastered on every entrance – smuggling some type of snack in a well-concealed pocket, a purse, under your hat…whatever. Why should you pay an exorbitant price for refreshments when you can surely find something for far less at a local convenience store, right? 

It’s a great idea, in theory. 

They say the customer is always right, and yet… I recently had the pleasure of contacting the DMV regarding an error in the address printed on my registration. Silly me, I had sent the renewal in by snail mail rather than utilize their online services for this one thing, and then had proceeded to wait approximately three weeks for my new registration sticker to arrive.

Giant sigh of relief. I did it. I delivered a 20 minute (well, more like 10-minute) keynote address in front of roughly 100 high school journalism students and former professors.

And I survived.