One of my favorite small-world things is how people can make an appearance in your life and, years later, return at just the right moment.
Stephanie Villani and I met over a decade ago when I was asked to write a story for Edible East End on seafood purveyor Blue Moon Fish, owned by commercial fisherman Alex Villani and his wife, Stephanie. I thought it was going to be your usual kind of interview, but they surprised me with an invitation to dinner at their home in Mattituck. I don’t remember what we ate (fish, I assume!) but I do remember thinking these were really cool, interesting, kind people and I was glad I had the opportunity to get to know them a bit.
Fast forward to this past year when I was looking to hire a writer and, lo and behold, Stephanie popped up in my email. Turns out, she’d been working as an editor and writer the last few years on both the North and South forks, and was looking to spread her wings a little in the editorial universe. Sometimes you get a feeling about people and, even though I hadn’t known Stephanie as a writer before, my gut said: “This is a big, fat yes!”
I like playing to people’s strengths (who doesn’t, right?), so when Stephanie pitched this awesome story about fisher Regina Migdalski — and a topic she spend decades becoming intimate with — I was pretty excited. I love how she tells this tale about Migdalski’s lifelong love of fishing, of meeting her commercial fisherman husband and jumping right on deck with him, of Migdalski’s honesty and kindness. It’s rich, full, intimate portrait a woman making a living in an industry that doesn’t always recognize or praise its female workers, but Stephanie does just that with care and dignity. It’s a big favorite of mine from this year, and if you haven’t read it (and seen the glorious photos taken by Jeremy Garretson), I think it will be yours, too.
Thanks for the great work, Stephanie!
