First the Froog, and now Julia Child dies! I didn’t learn as much from her as others have, because I didn’t ever really see her TV show, but I did appreciate that she always had a nice soft stick of butter sitting around, and drank wine while she cooked. And I can’t really imagine the benighted pre-Julia era of American food, though my father has occasionally spoken of those dark days when there weren’t even fresh mushrooms in the grocery stores.

I feel a little like when the old country music greats started kicking off–first Tennessee Ernie Ford, then Waylon Jennings, then Johnny Cash. It’s all downhill from here. Shit.

I imagine that all over the country tonight, people will be cooking tribute meals to Julia and toasting her, maybe even ritually dropping turkeys on the floor. Oh, I feel so sad.