Armed with camera dangling from my wrist, I head out during the lunch hour on a fine spring day, and immediately see something abstract I’d like to capture. I begin heading toward it when I notice Sacramento’s former mayor (Heather Fargo) exiting Lucca Restaurant from the direction in which I’m heading. Not wanting to be mistaken for the paparazzi and out of respect for the privacy I imagine she might desire, I shift courses and take the long way around.

    It seems there’s always someone locally, regionally or even globally-famous heading into or out of Lucca on J Street (Esquire Grill on 13^th, Faces on K, The Park UltraLounge on 15^th, etc.). And yet, it might be of little surprise that the Midtown/Downtown vortex attracts big and plenty players since it’s so centrally located, so full of good restaurants, so near the Capitol and so loaded with charm.

    To me, the 6 degrees of separation between us regular folks and those more blatantly recognizable are closing in. Blame it on the internet, reality TV, the widening of the “celebrity” umbrella… As the world gets more cramped, we’re naturally going to bump up against one another all the more.

    What I like about this phenomenon happening in Sacramento is this: It makes everyone and everything seem that much more accessible. It doesn’t discriminate. And instead of feeling like we’re robots walking amongst a bunch of strangers, familiarity is a welcome feeling in a world I had feared was losing its personal touch.

    As I head back to the office – my memory card (and belly) full – I coincidentally converge at the corner of 16^th and J with someone very well known in my social circle, my friend and co-worker Dawn Brown. We walk back to the office together, chatting about the warm weather and how much easier it will be to get together with friends now that spring has sprung.