What's Cookin in Brooklyn?

So as I pulled up to my house: late, frazzled, and bemused by the happenings on the train, there on my porch stood the man himself, Luigi Vitrone.

"Chief!" I exclaimed. "It's been a few months since our paths last crossed."

Luigi smiled, extended his hand, and said "my good friend Johnny, it's good to see you brother."

I laughed at myself, having instinctively called him "Chief."

I call everyone Chief, and on that very same night that Luigi and I met back in Baltimore, as we cruised the town late into the night, I sad to him "You know Chief, this town ain't so bad after all." Luigi grinned wide at this, and told me:

"You know, Johnny, if my father were here right now, instead of in Brooklyn, he would find it very funny that you called me Chief right then. You see, my father only uses two name for people he is speaking with casually. If he doesn't know their real name, and even sometimes when he does, he calls them either "Chief" or "Johnny."

He continued "and here I am in Baltimore, hanging out with a complete stranger, who happens to be named Johnny, and who apparently just called me Chief."

Luigi really got a kick out of this, and it served to strengthen our friendship right from the start. Like Luigi's father, I call almost everybody "Chief," whether I know them or not.
Flashing back to the present:
I welcomed Luigi into our home, but had to almost immediately apologize. "Listen, Lew, Frankie and are I leaving for Asia TONIGHT. So while it is great to see you, I don't have any time to play host to you. I can offer you something to drink, but I only have a few minutes before I have to go upstairs and finish packing."

Luigi told me he understood. He knew I was leaving, and he just wanted to drop off a couple of things for the family. He had a bottle of his famous pasta sauce and a big tub of homemade pasta for the kids.

"I know your borther and his wife are taking care of the girls, but I wanted to make their lives a little bit easier and give them a night or two of dinner."

I thanked him profusely, as he is always so thoughtful.

"I have something for you as well, Johnny." Luigi continued. I was speaking with Mayor Baker last week, and he gave me a box of pins for the Wilmington IN Campaign.


"He wants me to distribute them at the restaurant, and I plan to. But, knowing that you and Frankie are going to be in China for the Olympics, and knowing how popular "pin-trading" is at the Olympic Games, I was hoping you could bring some IN pins with you and use them for trading fodder. What do you think?"