Epilogue: Martha Triumphant

Martha knows more than most of us that it’s all about courage. Her ankle bracelet came off in early September 2005, and there was no keeping the force of Martha contained or enclosed after that.

Suddenly she is everywhere. I snuggled into the breakfast nook at home with a big mug of coffee to watch the premiere episode of Martha. And there she was—boom! Back on television as if she hadn’t missed a beat. I loved the relaxed interaction between Martha and the audience. This is the Martha I know—down-to-earth, fun, and laughing with the best of them. The next day, I nearly fell off my chair when I saw her whip up snacks in the microwave using recipes she’d learned in prison. She was showing her new jail hors d’oeuvres to the former Saturday Night Live comedian David Spade, who teased her mercilessly about her incarceration. Martha took it all in good humor.

I wasn’t surprised when the show got the best ratings she has ever had—beating the success of Martha Stewart Living. Half the time the audience members are among the stars of the show. They’ve brought their ponchos, their family recipes, and their show-and-tell items. Martha’s fans are connecting with her more vulnerable, human side.

On the premiere of The Apprentice: Martha Stewart a week later, Martha showed the side of her that is a kinder, gentler boss. The contestants ate off beautiful Martha Stewart plates and slept on Martha Stewart sheets from Kmart. When she had to fire one of them in the show-no-mercy tradition of her friend Donald Trump, she instead let the poor soul down nicely, saying “You just don’t fit in.” Then she wrote a cordial note to the fired contestant in her precise handwriting—no doubt on the special stationery I have seen so often in our correspondence over the years. I guess after all these years Martha has finally learned to apologize.

Martha’s family is proud as they can be. Lexi was sitting in the audience for the first episode of Martha, and Mrs. Kostyra watched on the TV at Turkey Hill with Martha’s housekeepers Lara and Odete, as they all sipped their morning tea. The whole family watched from wherever they were.

The show Mrs. Kostyra had told me about in July turned out to be a ninety-first birthday celebration that Martha hosted in honor of her mother. Martha and the chef John Baricelli made Mrs. Kostyra’s favorite, a rich and delicious carrot cake.

“Oh, look at Martha—she always looks so good on camera. She’s got those long, thin legs,” one family member said to me while watching as Martha aired. “Our Martha . . . she’s back in the saddle.”

Martha is a really fun show, both instructive and entertaining in the best tradition of Martha Stewart Living. Martha has a celebrity guest on the show every day, as well as lots of fun and useful how-to cooking and homekeeping segments. For Martha’s Halloween show, the special guest was the soap opera star Cameron Mathison dressed as Tarzan; Martha dressed as Jane, and a good time was had by all.

Early one morning, Laura picked me up and we went into Manhattan to see a taping of Martha together. Backstage, the loyal Martha team was in high gear—her producer Lisa scurried about, and Eva Scrivo was close by, ready with her comb and scissors. Martha and I shared a big hug as the audience waited for her arrival. You could feel the excitement and energy in the air. When Martha finally stepped out in front of the cameras where she belonged, the fans in the studio went wild. It was as if she were a rock star. I thought to myself, with a sense of awe, This is Martha Stewart—and she is no ordinary human being.

 

“You know, Lloyd,” Lexi told me once, “my mother is going to surprise the world once again. You can bet on that.”

She already has. And I’m looking forward to all of Martha’s good things in the many years to come.