Author: ruhlwrite

Singer. Songwriter. Musician. Performer. Wife. Mother. Worker. Shelly strives for balance. Shelly Bhushan lists these labels — she doesn’t think she has left any out — and adds juggler. That’s the one word that defines her life. “I’m doing what all women do,” she says. “It’s the most incredible balancing act.” Leena is 17 months old. Her husband, John Celentano, is on the floor trying to get the attention of their 17-month-old daughter,…

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Casey Fatchett picks up his camera. Now he feels more at ease. Casey’s an award-winning wedding photographer. He’s always the one taking the pictures, and he doesn’t know what to do when the eye of the lens is pointed in his direction. The only other time Casey was in the picture occurred four years ago when he married Caroline. A couple of his photographer friends did the honors, capturing him doing some serious kissing and some silly dancing in his kilt. Casey, who has recorded…

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Casey Fatchett picks up his camera. Now he feels more at ease. Casey’s an award-winning wedding photographer. He’s always the one taking the pictures, and he doesn’t know what to do when the eye of the lens is pointed in his direction. The only other time Casey was in the picture occurred four years ago when he married Caroline. A couple of his photographer friends did the honors, capturing him doing some serious kissing and some silly dancing in his kilt. Casey, who has recorded…

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The smoke swells as the souvlakis sizzle. Elpida pushes her pushcart onto her corner. They sear swiftly, so Elpida Vasiliadis has to turn them promptly while she’s serving the people who stop at her pushcart. For the last quarter century, which is half of her life, Elpida The Souvlaki Lady has been stationed on 33rd Street at Ditmars Boulevard. Elpida has been The Souvlaki Lady for 25 years. When she started, her son and daughter were young, and she lived around the corner, so she could…

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The call came at 10 at night. Annie LeVasseur had been eagerly expecting it, but, still, it made her nervous. Annie grew up in the South. It meant that a baby and Annie’s new career as a doula were about to be born. Although Annie had studied photos and videos of mothers giving birth during her training, this was the first time she was going to experience it in real life. “Babies are unpredictable,” she says, explaining her anxiety. “And I like predictability.” She…

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