Every morning I start my day by snuggling with Team Terrier in my bed directly behind the famous window of the American Gothic House, after which I go downstairs to make a cafe latte, hitting the “on” button of the radio on my desk as I pass by. The first voices I hear each day (and sometimes the ONLY voices I hear all day) are those of the NPR hosts, either on Morning Edition, or on weekends, Weekend Edition. I’m often making pies in the American Gothic House on Sunday mornings while listening to the confident yet comforting voice of Liane Hansen. Because NPR is such a big part of my life (and has been for many years, long before moving back to Iowa), the opportunity to be on Liane’s show carried more significance than any other interview I’ve done. I always remember how my friend Lisa Tabb’s dad told her, “You’ll know you’ve really made it when you’re on ‘Fresh Air with Terry Gross.'” I didn’t care which show I was on — it was still NPR and I felt extremely privileged.
You can listen to the 3-minute segment (link above) and decide for yourself whether or not I botched it. But it must not have been too bad because I’ve received a lot of emails from people sharing their pie stories and telling me they were inspired to go make pie. If I accomplished that, then yes, I guess it went well.
The best part of the interview, however, was after we stopped recording I was able to tell Liane how I listen to her show inside the American Gothic House, while I’m making pies. I think she liked hearing that. I’ll think she’ll like it even better when she receives the apple pie I’m going to send her.
And now we return to our regularly scheduled NPR listening. Phew.