Oh that Julia!

Pubcasters' memories of Julia Child keep proliferating like profiteroles in Paree. Here's one from Jim Lewis of Oregon-based fundraising consultants Lewis Kennedy Associates: Back in 1985, Child was receiving an honorary doctorate in humane letters from her alma mater, Smith College in Massachusetts. She agreed to attend a donor event at WGBY, thanks to a former classmate and friend of the station, Charlotte Turgeon. "As general manager," Lewis told Current, "I was given the honor of driving Julia from Northampton down to our studio in Springfield." Child's husband Paul was in front next to Lewis; Turgeon and Child were in back. "As I drove down Interstate 91, Julia loudly carried on in back, talking about food trends with Charlotte," also a cookbook author and editor. "And those food faddists!" Child loudly exclaimed. "They're ruining the entire concept of a meal. These vegetarians! How can you prepare a meal without meat? It's a (bleep)!" Child suddenly paused, mid-epithet, "staring at the nape of my neck," Lewis said, "apparently aware of my presence for the first time. Leaning forward, she gave me a rough slap on the shoulder. 'Oh dear,' she said, 'you're not one of those, are you?'" Classic Julia Child. "It was all I could do to keep the car on the road," Lewis added. "A really funny moment, delivered in full roar."