I received the call at 4:52pm Sunday, from Donna asking if I was familiar with the HBO series, The Wire and if I would be interested in representing The Soul Pitt at a small intimate dinner with the cast at an undisclosed restaurant at 5:16pm. Never mind my hair didn't turn out right, never mind I forgot my lip gloss at the house, never mind I broke my own speed record from Manchester to the Strip in less than seven minutes. My only focus was to sit down to dinner with the men from The Wire, my favorite show.

 

    The undisclosed restaurant was Isoldi's Italian Restaurant in the Strip District, an establishment emitting a feeling of warmth the moment you walked through the doors. The first thing I noticed was the highly polished wood used throughout the design of the spacious rooms. The hostess checked our coats and accompanied us to our reserved table at the front of the restaurant. The table had a great view of the outside, through the wall to wall shaded windows, a great place to watch for the other guests to arrive.

 

    The dinner party consisted of guests of 360 Entertainment, Kiki from WAMO radio station, their contest winners and me from The Soul Pitt. We informally introduced each other then proceeded to talk as we waited in anticipation for Dwayne (from 360 Entertainment) to arrive with the special dinner guests, Snoop (Felicia Pearson); Omar (Michael K. Williams); and Wee-Bey (Hassan Johnson).

 

    Not long after ordering our first drinks, the rest of the dinner party arrived. As with any public appearance there's always a chance of last minute changew, as I noticed Felicia wasn't with the group, but never fear they didn't leave us hanging. To our delight Lil Kevin (Tyrell Baker) was added to the venue. Missing was also Michael K. Williams (Omar) who was working on a project and catching a later flight in time to make an appearance at Celebrity Nite at Dowe's. Last, but not least, humbly, walked in handsome as all get-out, Hassan Johnson "Wee-Bey", No matter where you go, it will be my word that finds you. An additional surprise was Pittsburgh's own home-grown cast member, Carl Clemons, (member of Proposition Joe's crew).

 

    With all of the general introductions completed including the meet and greeting of the winners of WAMO's Dinner with the Wire Cast Contest Jana Dorsey and her guest Mia Turner. Then started the breaking of ice conversations touching on all the standard formal questions, where were you born, how did you get the part, who are your role models in the industry? Which enable us to become more acquainted and leading to more lively conversations. Before we became too deep into conversation, Dwayne nominated Kiki to bless the soon to be served meal.

 

    The prayer must have reminded Tyrell how hungry he was from being on the go these past few days and never taking the opportunity to eat properly. The more seasoned actor, Hassan explained to him how to eat on the go, more importantly where to eat. We started laughing when they mentioned the good eats at the 7-11s. Does the word e-coli mean anything, to anyone? By this time we had all fallen into good natured joking and everyone had their chance to relate their favorite scenes or characters.

 

    One comment I had to bring into discussion was to Hassan, in one of his season finale's scene his threat or the all-in-your-face speech to his son's mother, the same scene which has been recited by my daughter every chance she gets, Remember who I am, my word is still my word, in here, in Baltimore, in any place you can think of calling home, it will be my word that finds you. Oooh, his words are still giving me chills up my spine. Tell it Daddy!!!!

 

    One of Kiki's favorite was how Boadie (JD Williams) kept his stance and went down like a solider on his corner. Our laughter echoed throughout the restaurant, ain't no shame in being real, you would think we were sitting on someone's front porch, childhood friends catching up on old and new times. The more we talk, the more we found in common with each other and how this is a small world when one young man at the table connected with Hassan as they discovered they played football against each other on opposing high school teams back in New York. When they both became stumped with a name of a quarterback, Hassan quickly pulled out his cell phone and called a friend back in NY to jog his memory in search of the guy's name. If for some reason you don't watch The Wire, you may recognize Hassan's face from several music videos, the sexy love interest in Mya's Fallin video, the betrayed lover in The Roots Break You Off , Jay-Z's Anything and in 50 Cent Just a Lil Bit. I'm not going to lie, the only reason I watch those videos is to watch him

 

    My attention turned to Tyrell the new youngblood to The Wire. We've all heard stories how people actually major in acting in college or study for years with a coach and then work their way up from the off-off-off-off Broadway plays or B- movies, before they're offered their breakthrough role, none of that for Tyrell, who plays the character Lil Kevin in Season 4.

 

    He shared with us the story how he fell into the role of Lil Kevin by mistake, or as he corrected, it was an unexpected Blessing. He left New Jersey to live with his Mom in Maryland to attend a culinary school. One day a friend of the family called his mom and told her they were holding a casting call for teenagers for the upcoming season of The Wire. She decided to take Tyrell's two younger brothers and sign them up. Tyrell went along for the ride. While there the casting representatives asked Tyrell to complete a form, he waved them off with, Naw, I'm not here for that but they insisted he should, as he had the look they were searching for and in the same breath gave him the chance to speak directly to the casting manager via telephone.

 

    Hassan commented that Tyrell is the first guy he knows to have an audition over the phone and be offered the part. The Wire is Tyrell's first acting role, he was just a regular guy on his way to culinary school and ended up being the lovable, unforgettable character Lil Kevin. So what's the future of Lil Kevin, wasn't he one of the guys given a permanent home address in the vacants, courtesy of Chris and Snoop? Well, our discussions lead us to the conclusion, we actually didn't see Snoop & Chris kill off Lil Kevin, besides Tyrell commented, "You know that little body bag they pulled out the vacants said was me. You know that bag was way too small to fit all of me." Well, we'll just have to wait till next season, won't we?

 

    We asked Hassan could he give us some clues on the happenings for Season 5. He laughed and said none of the characters knows what's going to happen from season to season. They're given no clues or ideas whatsoever; they'll know when they return to Baltimore to start filming. We all agreed we didn't want this to be the final season.

 

    During our conversation we realized it's amazing how people can view the same show but see it differently. Hassan made a comment stating through his conversations with people throughout the history of the series, he has also noticed how every one has a different opinion of a show or some may even watch an episode over and each time see something they failed to see previously. Those who are followers of the show know how intense the show's story lines and characters have become, at times you may have to watch it twice to get the whole picture.

 

    After what seemed a long period, our food was served. Well when you're hungry the food can't be served quick enough. The next sound from our table was clinking of forks to plates, forks piercing food and being shoved in mouths, the lip smacking sound of satisfying our hunger.

 

    With all the flurry of activity the questions didn't stop. Kiki asked a great question, with so many main characters and story lines on the show, how do they interact with each other? Hassan responded that some of the actors have never met each other. They're all doing their own thing; it only comes together as one big picture on the TV screen.

 

    With my mind always on food, plus Baltimore's Inner Harbor is filled with great places to eat, I asked them where a few of their favorite places to eat while shooting (the series that is). Tyrell didn't miss a beat saying The Cheesecake Factory and Hassan offered Phillips Seafood Buffet and Wayne's Bar-B-Que. He also shared a funny story on how Tristan Wilds, who plays Michael, would have him walking up to The Lexington Market early in the morning to get crab cakes with mustard for breakfast, this is Tristan s favorite breakfast food. The Lexington Market is filled with a variety of seafood items and a great place to people watch.

 

    We moved on to discuss the many other interesting places to visit in Baltimore, from the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, the Aquarium, many of these places I've visited over the years, as I have family from West Baltimore. I've always enjoyed visiting the Inner Harbor, for those searching for an inexpensive get-away weekend this would be a nice choice. 

 

    Soon after dinner the cast was whisked away by Dwayne to the radio station to do some promo work, then to their hotel to rest up for the crowd at Dowe's later that evening. We all said our goodbyes, with the handshakes, hugs and polite kisses. We thanked them for coming and for being so wonderful and real.

 

    When I look back on the evening, instead of strangers getting together for the first time, it seemed more like the gathering of old friends, enjoying good food, great conversations, and endless laughs and making new memories.