FEATURED COLUMNIST
Patrice Edwards Jondi Gumz
publisher editor
contributing writers Jondi Gumz, Mindy Pedlar, Carissa Lemos, Teresa Hidalgo Dance, Edita McQuary, June Smith, Risa D’Angeles, Joe Ortiz, Sam Storey, Tony Tomeo, Zach Friend, Rebecca Gold Rubin, Manu Koenig layout Michael Oppenheimer, Ward J. Austin graphic artists Michael Oppenheimer, Ward J. Austin photography Michael Oppenheimer, Ward J. Austin, Brad King website Michael Oppenheimer, Camisa Composti production coordinator Camisa Composti media consultants Teri Huckobey, Brooke Valentine Cathe Race
office coordinator
distribution Bill Pooley, Taylor Brougham
Times Publishing Group, Inc. 9601 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003 The Times Publishing Group, Inc., publishers of the Aptos Times, a bi-monthly publication, the Capitola Soquel Times and Scotts Valley Times, each printed monthly, Coastal Weddings Magazine, Coastal Home and Garden Magazine, Aptos’ Fourth of July Parade Official Program Guide and Capitola’s Summer Festivals Official Program Guide, is owned by Patrice Edwards. Entire contents ©2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without the publisher’s written permission
Special Delivery for Julia By Joe Ortiz
W
hat would it feel like to get on an airplane with the paranoid sensation that you are a smuggler transporting contraband? Try bringing sourdough starters to Julia Child’s house for a video shoot. What seemed like an easy mission at first, quickly became a morbid fear that my unlabeled jars of pasty mixtures would be critically “inspected” by TSA agents, who might not know a mother dough from a facial lotion. A week before the trip, I lay awake every night, worrying about whether my concoctions would bubble up and ooze out of their containers in the overhead compartment—microorganisms on their way to Cambridge to entertain Julia coming alive on a 747, running wild in the aisles. The humor and absurdity of the thought helped me relax. Yet, my mind ran away with me. No, actually, I was freaked! I feared the TSA inspectors would confiscate my luggage and haul me off the flight in handcuffs just for trying to smuggle through a few active yeast cells for making peasant country bread. Would the agents suspect my goopy mixtures as some sort of catalyst for an explosive? I’ll admit I was working myself into my own self-imposed paranoia, supercharged by the gravity of my “momentous undertaking.” And I’ll also admit I’ve been given to exaggerating the significance of bread’s contribution to human existence. Could this be the tragic flaw of any craftsperson or artist? Hubris on the scale of a modern-day Don Quixote, tilting, not with a lance to fight windmills but with a
PHONE: (831) 688-7549 FAX: (831) 688-7551 GENERAL E-MAIL: info@cyber-times.com Patrice Edwards: patrice@cyber-times.com Publisher’s Assistant: assistant@cyber-times.com Editor: info@cyber-times.com Calendar Listings: www.tpgonlinedaily.com Graphics Department: graphics@cyber-times.com Billing Inquiries: cathe@cyber-times.com Classified Sales: sales@cyber-times.com Production: production@cyber-times.com CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE AT: www.tpgonlinedaily.com mission statement We at the Times Publishing Group, Inc. are dedicated to providing a voice for the individuals and organizations in our community while highlighting the outstanding accomplishments of our local businesses. We seek to promote healthy family values through our coverage of youth activities, school news, senior events, community groups and entertainment 4 / June 2022 / Capitola Soquel Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com
Joe Ortiz with Julia Child
teaspoon or chopstick to stir and nurture an elixir to save the world? Or can it simply be the artisan baker’s occupational hazard of inhaling too many fumes? From what I understand, TSA inspectors are prone to question anything suspicious: What evil motive lurks in the mind of a person who would carry a jar of microorganisms on a flight? Chemical warfare came to mind. Or a guarded caution about an unknown substance: “Explain this to me, mister! You’re bringing a wet, slimy paste across country to do what? Make a peasant country “boule.” And for who? Julia? Sure. What the hell’s a boule anyway, smart alec? And who’s this Julia? A code name for some spy cell? Some covert operation?”
Oh, no, I think. Julia and her husband were both CIA before she became a celebrity chef. Spies!! What am I getting myself into? “Unfasten your seatbelt, wise guy,” the TSA agent tells me in my fantasy shakedown. “Stand up, put your hands behind your head and exit the plane.” These were the thoughts that ran through my mind several nights before my flight to Cambridge. Plans Change few months earlier, my wife Gayle and I were in Scotland for the Open golf tournament when I got a call from our bakery: “Julia Child just called, and she wants to talk to you about changing your presentation next week.”
A
“Julia Child” page 7
Good Shepherd Catholic School is accepting applications for Fall of 2022 2727 Mattison Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95065 Phone: 831-476-4000 • www.gsschool.org
