You Can Call Me Al

One of the unexpected perks of being able to walk to work, other than an opportunity to witness first hand the manic Auckland morning ballet that is car borne commuting, is to brush shoulders with a true star. Well not quite brush shoulders - that would be rude - but certainly exist in the same space. On the same side of the street even. But I like to think of it as, not just two people who pass on the street, but kindred spirits who are at opposite ends of their prospective journeys. Metaphorically and physically speaking.

You see every morning, usually around the same time and place, I pass none other than Al Pacino. I know! It's amazing isn't it! Al Pacino, star of countless classic movies, Academy Award Winner and thoroughly nice chap, passes me in the street. Just typing these words gives me goosebumps. Obviously, I'd rather it was Robert De Niro but, hey, beggars can't be choosers. And besides Al, as I like to call him, is almost as good.

Quite what Al Pacino is doing cutting people's hair in a suburb of Auckland is beyond me. Maybe he's researching for a new film where the central character is a barber? Or an ex-mobster barber in the witness protection programme? It makes sense. Just think about all those juicy snippets of gossip a barber hears on a daily basis.....

Ok, I'll come clean, it's a fair cop. It's not actually Al Pacino but someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to the second best star of the silver screen. Not only that, as if that wasn't enough, but Al has clearly gone out of his way to look like Al. If you know what I mean. This guy is more Al Pacino than Al Pacino. Except less shouty. In fact silent. Although I think even the Al Pacino would draw the line  at wearing a dress shirt with his own image printed as a repeating pattern. If it's to reinforce just how much like Al Pacino, Al looks then it's not needed. It really isn't. And, I know it's sunny in Auckland, but sunglasses even on a cloudy day are a little over the top. A smidge. The overall effect though is so convincing, that sometimes I forget, and have to fight the urge to shout "Hoo-ha" in his face before rudely asking for his autograph. 

If this is the closest I get to meeting Al Pacino, the real one, then it's a good second best. And pretty handy really.  I'd imagine the having to travel halfway around the world to meet the real deal would take the shine off the experience; what with the jet lag and everything. If you think about it, passing-by somebody who looks like Al Pacino, somebody who embodies everything that Al stands for, on a daily basis surely is better than a single meeting with the original? I'm not sure if there is an official ratio for such a thing. But if there isn't - there should be. 

Anyway I'm very happy with the Al doppelgänger. Passing him always puts a smile on my face, brightens up the walk to work and puts me in a New York frame of mind. Now if I could only find a Bobby De Niro look-a-like my journey to work would be perfect....