My favorite part of being a newspaper photographer isn’t about the photography; it’s about the people.
I am fortunate to have several opportunities every day to spend some time with the people you read about in the Wichita Eagle. While famous people occasionally grace my viewfinder, I find the everyday folk to be more interesting.
Juliette Abdayem, the matriarch of La Galette in Delano, is a recent friendship.
At 72, she works every day in the kitchen making most of the French restaurant’s Lebanese entrees: tabouli, cabbage rolls, cold yogurt cucumber, rice pudding, all the daily soups and specials….
( The French connection: the family-owned La Galette legitimately serves French cuisine because France formed the State of Greater Lebanon in 1920. It’s in their blood.)
Juliette says she does this because she doesn’t like to sit at home while her family is working. Mother of seven and grandmother of 20, Juliette simply cannot stop serving her family.
“I’m happy,” she says in a video below. “I love my job, I love my family. We stay all day together. I’m very happy.”
It’s my job — and my honor — to bring these regular people to life.
As a newspaper photo grunt, I am pleased to introduce you to Juliette Abdayem.
Read more in a Business Today story in Tuesday’s paper or at Kansas.com.