Baking bread; deboning, stuffing and lacing up poultry; learning to roast the first Thanksgiving turkey for my family after my mother died (basted with brandy!) -- all of those things were easier for me, either because of her television shows, which ran on PBS for years, and from her cook books. She gave me confidence to take culinary chances.
I didn't know then about the other parts of her life, her work with the OSS, her early experiences learning how to cook up shark repellent. Meeting her husband, living in exotic parts of the world, serving their country in sensitive diplomatic positions of trust and responsibility.
Her life along with her husband in the Foreign service led to their being summoned before the House Un-American Activities hearings aka the McCarthy Red Scare, as two more loyal Americans victimized by right wing paranoia and witch hunting.
Mr. Child was, in addition to his sophistication as literally, a man of the world serving the Foreign Service, a black belt and instructor in Judo. A man of many parts, he wrote poetry inspired by his wife Julia.
A complex woman of many skills and talents above and beyond her many skills in the kitchen, I salute Julia Child on what would have been her 100th birthday. I haven't decided yet what edible project I'm going to tackle between now and when I finally go to bed, but I will try to remember at least some of what she demonstrated and wrote, to inform my efforts.
Bon Appetit! and Rest in Peace, Julia Child; you were an extraordinary woman, and an inspiring American with you can-do attitude -- and Joe McCarthy be damned to hell.
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