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Last summer members from our brookedmund group made arrangements
to meet Julia after her cd signing yesterday at the Fund for Animals. We had wanted to meet her at the fan club luncheon,
but since she couldn't go, she and her publicist, Rodi, planned a private lunch for us, and Julia paid for lunch, there were
7 from our group. I still can't believe she paid for lunch.
We got to the Fund For Animals a little after 11:00 where
Julia was selling and signing her cd. Rodi greeted us like we were the celebrities. There was a camera crew from Soapnet there
and Rodi told them all about us. Then she lined us up to see Julia. I bought a cd and went up to Julia to sign it. When I
told her my name she stood up and KISSED ME on the cheek. I was nervous so I didn't say much other than to tell her how much
I loved her cd. She told me all about her husband doing the music and her dog Nell on the back and she thanked me for coming.
After we all got our cds signed the Soapnet crew interviewed us on camera about the group, about where we all had
traveled from, about the cd, and other things. Then Julia came and pretended to be surprised to see us, it was funny. They
interviewed her with us briefly and then it was done. Apparently they will do a segment on us in addition to Julia and the
Fund for Animals. None of us expected to be interviewed, so we were all nervous. When it was done Julia turned around and
looked at us and said, "Are you guys okay? You look a little shell-shocked." I know I had the deer-in-the headlights look
on my face.
The interviewer wanted to know where we were having lunch and Julia said it was a secret. Rodi told him
they wanted this to be special for us and so hadn't invited the press.
At the restaurant they seated us at a huge
round table in the back of the restaurant. I got to sit next to Julia since I had helped arrange it all. The whole experience
was so surreal because Julia is the most down-to-earth person that you don't feel like you're sitting with someone famous,
but every time I looked at her I knew I was looking at a soap star. I felt totally at ease with her and it was so easy to
talk to her because she was so sincere. She didn't act like a star at all. We gave her a scrapbook of stuff from the group
along with two cds of B/E songs that we chose and she LOVED it. We gave a similar scrapbook to John Callahan at the fan club
luncheon. If you want to see pics from the fan club luncheon click here.
Julia is very different from Brooke in that Julia is very
outgoing and charismatic. She talks A LOT and it was often hard to get a word in edgewise, which we loved and didn't try to
stop. And she laughs A LOT and it is obvious that she is a very happy person and enjoys life. She and Rodi teased us all afternoon
about different things and Julia is quick with the one-liners.
We talked a lot about B/E, someone asked if she would
explain how Edmund felt about Brooke and why it was written the way it was. She explained Edmund's actions by having us try
to imagine what it would be like to have someone wrenched out of our lives and then have them come back suddenly. She said
we wouldn't be able to think about anything else but that person. She also said again that what Brooke did was a terrible
thing to do to someone she loved. She then told us about a true story of a woman who had amnesia, she never regained her memory,
but stayed with her husband and children because they loved her so much. She totally got teary telling us about this story
and how it shows the "power of love" and had to find something to wipe her tears with. In that way she and Brooke are alike.
She did say they've taped some nice scenes that will show how Edmund felt about Brooke. She thinks he will be redeemed by
them and she is aware of the things being said on the boards about Edmund.
She doesn't know how far Brooke and Adam
will go, but is aware they are getting a positive reaction from fans. She thinks Brooke and Tad will not be romantic, but
doesn't really know for sure.
She recently signed a contract and will be on for a while
longer. Hooray!
Rodi asked if there was something else we thought Julia should be doing for her fans and I spoke up
and said, "Since you asked..., So Julia will answer one question a month for our brookedmund group and contribute some comments
about Brooke's past relationships for our new website.
I was afraid that I might be disappointed or let-down after
meeting her, because sometimes your expectation doesn't fit the reality, but I love her even more. She is so genuine and really
seemed to enjoy herself with us. I felt totally at ease with her and she really is just a regular person, she didn't act like
she was better than us, or that lunch was a burden for her. She seemed relaxed with us and it was Rodi who kept reminding
her it was time to go. She was only supposed to spend an hour with us, but it turned into more than two. And at the end when
we wanted another group picture to include Jaime, who met us at the restaurant, she happily posed while Rodi took pictures
with 7 different cameras! She also took pictures with us each individually and the cute thing is when she takes a picture
with you she puts her arm around you. So I got to put my arm around Julia Barr! When we said good-bye at the door she hugged
each one of us. The other thing that was so surprising was Julia said a couple of times she couldn't believe we had flown
all the way there to have lunch with her, like she wasn't anybody special. I'm still floating on air today, I will never forget
lunch with her and how special she made us feel. Thank you Julia. :) To see pics click here.
by Marcie
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