NPR Ties On Some Apron Love

When The Apron Book published in 2006, I received an invitation to visit NPR-Washington for an interview with Jacki Lyden. I knew Jacki as a voice reporting from war zones around the world, and to

(Photo by Will O’Leary)

imagine being interviewed about my love of aprons by someone of such experience and authority had me a bundle of nerves.

Before our meeting, I read Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, Jacki’s memoir of her and her two sisters living with their mother’s delicate mental health.

The book is a journey and ultimately, a love story to family, and I was honored that Jacki recognized similar connections in The Apron Book.

In October 2006, wearing pearls and a Smoochie apron, I waited in the lobby for my interview. Jacki did everything she could to put me at ease, and I so appreciated the effort. The interview was an amazing experience, and I consider it a life highlight!

That was five years ago, and over that time, Jacki’s book became a script and a week ago, the script a performance reading in NYC to benefit Fountain House, a mental health organization. And

Prince Charming and I decided to support Jacki and her hard work and attend this wonderful event.

A trip to New York City is a big deal to one of us, not the least of which is the opportunity to wear my latest vintage purchase – a

wool suit jacket with fur collar. Fall was in the air just enough that I wasn’t pushing the look too much. Our 20 minute train ride to Aliseo, the restaurant where Jacki had arranged a private dining experience for her friends and family, turned into much longer as we negotiated the riot between police and protestors in Times Square to the subway, where it was announced the G train, our train, had shut down.

A secondary train routing + a considerable hike with only a minimal amount of whining about the height of my cute heels and the cobblestones of Brooklyn, and we finally arrived.

Greeting Jacki!

Catching up!

Meeting other celebrants!

Between one picture and another, my camera threw a fit and refused to flash. Then fixed itself, sort of, in time to snap Chef Albano presenting a crusted sea bass. Served in courses with glasses filled often, the Italian feast Chef prepared was bellisimo.

Aliseo is Jacki’s neighborhood restaurant, so the after-dinner walk to her loft was a short stroll. I thought I’d need at least a mile or two to ever have room to eat another bite, but that was before Jacki took a turn of the living room offering gourmet chocolates.

From one Saturday to the next, from a Brooklyn loft

to a local fundraiser for an animal shelter, there is a similarity: another occasion to don a vintage find.

xxea

Tie One On…an apron, of course!