Lovely, Just Lovely...

It almost goes without saying that we loved it. The matinee at the MGM Grand Cineplex theater at the new Pier Park in Panama City, Florida was filled with other women of un-certain age, dressed almost as it were, for the occasion. The movie was delightful. I have already devoured half of the novel "Julie & Julia" by Julie Powell and a chapter of "My Life in France," written by Julia herself at the end of her life. And She lived. What struck me most about Julia Child, was her unfailing cheer, and endearing charm. She found all of the French people she met friendly and warm, and they loved and accepted her, too. She took life by the horns and just lived it, that's all. Life was thrilling to her. Meryl Streep was brilliant in her biographical portrayal, and in an interview on YouTube compared playing Julia to paying tribute to her own mother, who mirrored some of Julia's qualities of zest and verve. When I was about 6 years old, watching Julia's cooking program, saw her literally drop a very heavy roasted turkey, or was it ham, on the floor, slipping right off the platter, right on the air. She went on to wish everyone a hearty Bon Appetit and see you next time without missing a beat or showing any hint of embarrassment, pretending it never happened. I ran to my mother to tell her- that lady just dropped her dinner and they showed it on tv! That was Julia. It was lovely to have my own mother beside me again, laughing and reminiscing of the black-and-white tv days, when life was just "peachy" and women wore pearls and high heels in the kitchen. It was very touching, in the movie, when author Julie Powell's husband gave her a set of imitation pearls to celebrate her 30th birthday, and with tender emotion in front of party guests, she promptly snapped off her plastic pop bead pearls while he fastened the new ones at the nape of her neck. Go see this movie. And if at all possible, please see it with your mother.//