Raised on the island of Jamaica, Fiona is a classically trained ballerina who began to dance at the age of 4. She received several scholarships to highly revered dance schools, and trained extensively with Mikhail Barysnikov. At the age of 17, while rehearsing for the ballet 'Giselle' at The Miami Conservatory, Fiona severely injured the lower portion of her spine, thus ending her illustrious career as a prima ballerina. Her inner strength and emotional endurance propelled her into an acting career that has truly flourished. As Jenna Bradshaw on CBS' longest running daytime drama, 'Guiding Light', Fiona Hutchison is glamour and charm personified. Jenna's raw sensuality is played to sheer perfection, I must say however, there is certainly so much more to Fiona the "person" than exquisite elegance and radiant beauty. 

She's eloquent and articulate but most of all, she's instinctively perceptive. She is, as some might say, a richly woven talent in constant transition. Fiona has been a client and treasured friend of mine for a little over 8 years. One of the things I find intrinsically endearing about this exceptional woman is her complete understanding of the very nature of being "human". Fiona embraces life with an ambitious energy.  Lately, it's within an enchanting state of pure discovery that she is the most content. This can be attributed to "the little man" in her  life, 15 month old son, John Hutchison Viscardi, or "Hutch" as his close  friends affectionately call him. Fiona and husband John Viscardi, are once again expectant parents, and they couldn't be more elated. With the warmth of the holidays upon us, Fiona and I spoke at length about  family, holiday traditions, and the essence of the season.

UPBEAT: "I wanted to do this as spontaneously as humanly possible. But you know, we both have a tendency to laugh a lot. So how do you think we should slant this article Fi?"

FIONA: "Well darling, that would be your call. After all, this is your magazine." (she laughs)

UPBEAT: "Alright, but I warn you I may bring up your penchant for squirt guns." 

FIONA: "I'll have to mention the sexy male stripper again."

UPBEAT: "Yikes. Okay then, let's talk about Christmas Fi."

FIONA: "I love Christmas. I start playing my Christmas music in mid-October. Just because the songs are so peaceful and pleasant to listen to."

UPBEAT: "Obviously this Christmas in particular will be especially exciting for you with Hutch walking and a new baby on the way."

FIONA: "Definitely so. Hutch is still rather young but we're so looking forward to decorating the tree this year because he's going to be so excited by the lights. As it is every morning when Hutch wakes up he instructs John and I to turn on every single light in the entire apartment. He points to each light, and he isn't pleased until all the lights are on. It's hysterically funny. The tree lights are going to be fascinating to him... so much so that he may climb the tree and pull them all down!" (she laughs) Lights can be a real pain to put up but I think the children are a renewed reason to do it."

 UPBEAT: "What about Christmas in New York? Everyone talks about how incredible the holidays are in New York City, I hear that you haven't celebrated Christmas until you've celebrated it with a native New Yorker or Frank Sinatra."

FIONA: "Really? I've heard that too. 

Well my theory is that it's simply because New York's a huge city.  Christmas in London is wonderful as well. When you're celebrating the holidays in a major city like New York, you always have a vast concentration of amazing lights. All of the store windows are decorated so creatively. Music is piped into the streets from the store windows, there's a Santa Claus on every corner. There are special exhibits down 5th Avenue, on 57th Street. All of the light displays intertwine 
beautifully, so there are literally decorations and lights everywhere the eye can absorb. And it's brisk and cold,and the sentiment of Christmas can really be felt quite deeply."

UPBEAT: "It's different from the West coast isn't it? You've spent holidays on both coasts, haven't you?"

FIONA: "Oh yes. Last Christmas John and I were sunbathing on a beach in 
Santa Monica with a bottle of champagne and some cheese. I'll admit it felt a bit odd. I mean, it was a great experience, because we'd never done that before, but it wasn't what you think of when you think of Christmas. It was more about relaxing. "

UPBEAT: "What holiday traditions would you like to pass along to your 
children?"

FIONA: "Having "Christmas Crackers" at the dinner table, which is a British tradition. They are foil wrapped tubes with little gifts inside.  You cross hands with everyone sitting at the Christmas dinner table and then you pull the crackers until they pop. Everyone wears silly paper hats. It's really great fun for all of the children. My brothers and I looked forward to that each year. In England we also have something called "Christmas Pudding" which is a lot like the American version of "Fruitcake", although it's very concentrated, and it's made with brandies and other sorts of strong liqueurs, which is what preserves it for several years. 

As the tradition goes, we use a number of "dimes" to spike the whole pudding, approximately fifty to a hundred.  Or to make it more difficult you can put two dimes in the entire pudding.  It depends on the size of  the pudding mold and the number of guests. Now whoever gets the dime or dimes when the pudding is served, gets to make a wish.  The more dimes you get, the more wishes and the more prosperous you are.   It's like a jelly mold sort of, the hosts usually know where the dimes are but they keep it a secret. Brandy is then poured over the entire concoction and it's lit and served flaming.  You have to be careful with this tradition, it's not for children. The dimes could be swallowed and the alcohol content in the pudding is rather high. So it's really more of an adult tradition. But that's the marvelous thing about the holidays. The traditions include something special for all ages.

UPBEAT: "Tell us about a tradition that you began and now practice each 
year."

FIONA: "We've had a tree trimming party every year. First we try to find 
the tallest tree we can find, because we do have extremely tall ceilings, so we usually end up with a fourteen foot high tree, it's positively beautiful, but it's a bit of work getting into the apartment. Once we put up the tree..."

UPBEAT: "I'm assuming this is a live tree not a department store artificial display..."

FIONA: (laughs) "Yes dear, we couldn't get the Rockefeller Center tree either, so we settled for our own live one. No Charlie Brown trees for us, even though the symbolism of that tree was quite reminiscent of the meaning behind Christmas itself. By the way, I love Charlie Brown.  (pause) So once the tree is up we cover it with as many lights as we can and all of our family and friends bring ornaments to hang on the tree.  We then hang the ornaments we've had each year, so we have accumulated a lot of memories with each ornament symbolizing something. John and I have done this since we've been married. It's a wonderful part of our holiday. Now this year Hutch will have a few special ornaments to hang,  this being his first time. We'll begin a new sort of tradition with our children. So that Hutch and his soon to arrive brother... By the way Godmother, did I mention I had the amniocentesis, I'm having another boy!"

UPBEAT: "Wow, you must be so excited. Hutchie will be a big brother.   That's so incredible, congratulations Fi!" 

FIONA: "Why thank you. Yes. We found out he was a boy yesterday actually.   We can't tell you the name we've come up with for him, so you'll have plausible deniability in case you're asked (she laughs). We're not telling another soul so it's going to be a surprise for everyone we love."

UPBEAT: "That's the best way to do things. I'm so happy for you both Fi."

FIONA: "Thanks. So the new Hutchison Viscardi tradition starts with this Christmas. Now obviously our guest list will be slightly different this year. We're inviting more of Hutch's little friends over for the tree trimming. We'll be inviting people who don't mind the clammer of little feet everywhere (she laughs)"

UPBEAT: "So in essence, life is changing for you?"

FIONA: "Yes. But it's a good change I think. I mean, we've come to a place in our lives where we've been given this incredible gift to learn from. We're learning about ourselves in the process. I think that's the way it's meant to be. It's the cycle of life. John and I love watching Hutch discover things for the first time because it feels like we're discovering them with him. I have to tell you, it's an indescribable 
feeling." 

UPBEAT: "What are some of your favorite memories of Christmas?"

FIONA: "My favorite memories are from the Christmas' I've created with John my family and my closest friends. I think it has something to do with the fact that they're "our" Christmas celebrations. I mean, Christmas for me as a child was a bit different than the norm. I grew up in Jamaica. So the traditions were much different than one would expect them to be. And there wasn't snow, so it felt strange to me. I would watch the Christmas specials and I would wish for snow. Now that's not to say we didn't celebrate the holiday. For me the Christmas stocking was always a big treat. My parents would fill the stocking with all kinds of toys and goodies and place them underneath the covers in our beds. So when we woke up in the morning we immediately had something to open."

UPBEAT: "Is there a Christmas wish or gift you have for Hutch that will 
last for many Christmas' to come?"

FIONA: "Well, it's actually a difficult thing to try to teach children but John and I are attempting it. We are trying to get away from accumulating a whole lot of meaningless "stuff". By that I mean mindless unimaginative "stuff" that we tend to give each other and save for no apparent reason other than "it's all the latest rage". The kind of gifts we want to encourage our children to give each other, which is what John and I do at birthdays now are life "experiences". For example, I went 
and bought John fencing lessons for his birthday. I'd like to teach my children that the gifts with meaning aren't necessarily the latest fad or video game, but something with substance. It could be a plane ticket, a bus ticket, a card explaining the surprise, tickets to the opera, Spanish lessons, dinner they cooked themselves, you get the general idea. 

Something you can "do" as opposed to an inanimate object of some sort that will collect dust eventually. John and I are hoping to show the children the importance of life experience. Time is something we take for granted. I think we should all try very hard to give more of our time to our children and vice versa. Those precious moments can be so powerful. So that, in essence is my wish for my children." 

UPBEAT: "That's very profound actually. So based on this premise, what 
you're trying to teach your children is that they must experience life."

FIONA: "Why thank you. Exacty. It's such a simple philosophy when you think about it, but I must say John and I feel deeply about it. I do believe it takes a great deal of common sense and understanding to raise a child. It's a tremendous responsibility, but at the same time it can be so rewarding. Too many children are exposed to the whole materialistic lifestyle at such an early age, and it's easy for parents to get caught up in it. It becomes more about "look what I have" and the 
status of having things, that the significance is lost. There's no real appreciation for what matters. I'm not saying I don't want my children to have things at all, that would be preposterous, I just don't want them to lose the appreciation or understanding for the real meaning of life. I want to inspire their creativity and give them the opportunity to dream and feel on more of a artistic level. I think the whole creative process gets stagnant if it isn't nurtured just a bit. Children really do need our input when it comes to the natural balance of  everything. It can get so confusing for them. The process of learning and growing is never quite complete. And there are several difficult periods. My God, I'm still learning things. John and I both feel strongly about formal education as well. The old adage about a good education is so true. I think it makes a strong difference."

UPBEAT: "I agree. The adult illiteracy problem in this country is growing. And I think it's our responsibility to work to change this."

FIONA: "John feels quite strongly about a solid education. As do I. We need to become more involved as a society. We need to become more aware of the problems our children face when it comes to learning." 

UPBEAT: "Very well said. But how do you propose we accomplish this?"

FIONA: "It's not exactly a simple task. Parents need to take on more of an active role in educating their children. And with hectic work schedules it can become rather complicated. And believe me, I can attest to that. But I do believe it's possible. There comes a point in which you just have to make some tough choices, sacrifices if you will. 

I spend a tremendous amount of quality time with Hutch. As you know Bridget, my call times at 'Guiding Light' are often unpredictable. Whenever I'm in a heated storyline, "my time" becomes somewhat of a rare commodity. But being a parent has taught me a great deal about the real value of my efforts. I've restructured my priorities and it's definitely an ongoing learning process with Hutch. I expect more from myself where he's concerned. And that's the way it should be." 

UPBEAT: "So which part of the Christmas Festivities is your favorite, 
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?"

FIONA: "Although I do love Christmas morning, I'd have to say Christmas Eve is my personal favorite. It's all about the whole anticipation of what's to come, the excitement of it all. In anything we do the anticipation is always the best part." 

UPBEAT: "So what is it that you, Fiona Hutchison, wish for all of our readers this Holiday Season?"

FIONA: "I wish them a Merry Holiday Season and of course a very prosperous New Year. I hope they are all fortunate enough to have loved ones to celebrate with. And if that isn't the case, I hope they can find a bit of peace and solace within themselves."

FINAL NOTES: 

After Fiona Hutchison takes in the often feverish pace of the Christmas shopping season in New York City, she likes to relax with friends at the posh Plaza Hotel's Palm Court Restaurant for the time honored English tradition of "high tea". "Tea time" symbolizes the winding down of the day" says Fiona. "It's a time to share your thoughts with close friends. And perhaps gain a few more insightful shopping tips."

The Palm Court Restaurant features a turn of the century elegance and is currently celebrating it's 90th anniversary. "One must have high tea in a warm and cozy atmosphere." Fiona explains. "It's part of the English mystique." With that Fiona and I continued our conversation on a more personal level. We laughed about the Hutch-meister being a human dog alarm. Everything's a "dog" lately. UB