a brush with greatness

On a humid weeknight, my friend Mike asks me to join him to see the New York Yankees. I rendezvous with him near his job on the Upper East Side. As we walk to the subway station, I see my mentor walking by, I freeze for a moment in shock, and come to my senses. I have to talk to her, a celebrity in cooking! Her name is Lydia Bastianich of Lydia's Italy. My favorite cooking, second to Chinese, is Italian. That is probably because both cuisines involve delicious spicy sauces and noodles! Or pasta, rather. I give Mike my camera to take our picture, but he does not follow after me, nor does he know how to use a camera's zoom. So this is the only evidence of me, meeting my hero, Lydia.