By now you have seen the major press coverage bestowed upon my old hometown, the one and only Binghamton, New York, who received a bit of ink in this month’s issue of Esquire. In a lengthy piece on the American sandwich, the Triple Cities (of which Binghamton is one) in general and Sharkey’s (a Binghamton landmark) in particular are noted for the Binghamton area’s gift to the world: the spiedie.

On the cover of the mag, of course, is Hollywood’s new idol, Chris Pratt. Formerly an overweight funnyman, now a hunky lead (so they tell me), this guy’s in every movie coming out this summer (recent credits: Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty, Her, The Lego Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy), and a big one forthcoming: Jurassic World, fourth installment in the Jurassic Park series. Married to Anna Faris and star of a hit TV series (Parks and Recreation), this guy is money, even when playing a buffoon (see Parks and Rec). Not bad for a guy who a few years ago lived in a pit.

Well, on TV that is.