In the story "Indagine da Camera" ("Room investigation"), Julia requires physical therapy while recovering from injuries. In this comedy sequence, Julia's overprotective assistant Emily Jones (who looks like Whoopi Goldberg) is disgruntled by their dawdling taxi driver:

(Cabbie listens to the radio) “When I hear that whistle blowing…”

(Turns it off) “Sorry, Johnny, I’ll be right back.”

“It’s about time!”

“I was listening to Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, from June of '68.”

“Oh, lovely. A taxi driver who listens to prisoners. What do you want to be when you grow up, a priest, so you can take their confession?”

“He's a singer, Emily.”

“It's stuff from thirty-five years ago, but it moves me every time. Lean back, Miss.”

(Julia struggles to enter the back seat of the taxi.) “Thank you.”

“When he starts Folsom Prison Blues, I'm transported to another dimension.”

“Fine, but first take us to the hospital. Then you can go wherever you want.”

“Watch your head, miss.”

“Take it easy!”

“Ooh... Heave! Okay, now stretch your leg out.”

“Thank you.”

“Step on the gas. We're late for Hollbrook, pediatric department!”

“You mean ‘orthopedic,’ Emily.”

“I don't understand some things. What do vegetable gardens (orti) have to do with feet? The science of feet should be called piediatria!” (This "garden" joke only makes sense in Italian, though the characters live in America and are theoretically speaking English. But the common root word of "orthopedic" and "pediatric" and "podiatry" being Latin pedis ("foot") does confuse English speakers as well.)

“My son was hospitalized there. It's the pavilion on Pansy Avenue. If we take Cherry Lane, behind the railway, we'll beat the 10:18 train crossing.”

“But if we don't get there in time, we'll be stuck there for an hour.”

Part of the joke is that Julia lives in fictional Garden City near NYC; as you can see, all the streets are named after garden plants.

There's also a linguistic Easter Egg hidden in the art. While artist Valerio Piccione was working on this book, his son David was born. Piccioni is Italian for "pigeons," so the cab has a rooftop advertisement for "David Pigeons" as a tribute to the newborn boy. Congratulations, Valerio!

Social/Sharing