No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

kellysue

Okay, weird favor to ask –

I’m an alcoholic, 16 years sober, and I’d like to ask you to go vote for a bartender on Facebook .

I know. It’s odd. But here’s the thing:

The bartender in question is our good friend Natasha Mesa (we call her “Tasha”). She’s the one in the leather pants in the top photo and the bride in the gorgeous black dress in the bottom pic. The kid on the left in the wedding portrait is my daughter, Tallulah the Flower Girl, and on the right? That’s my son, Henry Leo, Ring Bearer (and nine year old boy who won’t watch kissing!).

In the back, in the middle – that’s me, officiating the most beautiful wedding you could ever hope to see, for two of the most beautiful humans.

Are you familiar with the Speed Rack competition?

The service industry can sometime be thought of as a man’s world. With Speed Rack, which they founded in February of 2011, Mix and Marrero have been able to shine a spotlight on female mixologists thriving behind bars around the country; and while they are at it, raise money for breast cancer research, education, and prevention.

The two got Speed Rack off the ground after Mix brought her concept of an all-female speed bartending competition to Marrero, the president of the NY chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails – an organization that promotes women in the spirit industry while raising funds for local and national charities.). The idea was to create a cocktail competition for the ladies -one that celebrated women, was created by women and supported women; in and out of the spirits industry. In their first year, Speed Rack met over 200 bartenders across the country and raised over $69,000.

Natasha’s wife, Michel, is Tallulah’s best friend, a former Marine pilot and currently a model for, among others, one of our favorite Portland companies: WildFang.

Tasha is Henry Leo’s favorite person to play Star Wars Battle Front with, and, more to the point, an incredible bartender – truly, she undeniably practices it as an art as well as a craft, and she busts her *ass*, constantly reading and experimenting with the nature of flavor. She’s also one of the few bartenders I’ve ever met who is DELIGHTED to invent crazy non-alcholic cocktails for me. She makes me feel special, rather than odd. You know how much you appreciate people who do that for you?

So here’s the thing: ALL the women competing in the Speed Rack are badasses and they ALL deserve to move on. But only 1st place and a wild card, determined by Facebook voting, advance. Tasha won the Seattle competition last year (her first year competing!) and this year she came in second. She should get the wild card spot, and right now, the last day, she’s behind in votes.

You don’t have to take my word for it – click through – there’s a video you can watch and decide for yourself. If you favor someone, else – vote for them! No hard feelings – I love just making people aware of Speed Rack, and, honestly, as I said, they’re all badasses. But MY badass in this race is Natasha Mesa, and I’m pulling for her to move on.

kellysue

#ICYMI

Natasha’s in the lead now (THANK YOU!), but it’s CLOSE and voting is open until midnight!

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Stardust - Available now - BBC Radio 4