Library of Cultural References

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National Lampoon/Bernie's column

From Iowa City, Mike remembers:

Back in the 70s, the National Lampoon ran two fictional columns that alternated monthly. One was by an oversexed, materialistic maharishi named Baba Rum Raisin. The other was by a gruff New York City cab driver named Bernie.

Bernie's columns were stories of famous passengers, and usually involved high intrigue and adventure, and his casual sex with famous females. The way they were written, it was understood that Bernie was of course a total braggart, and none of his stories were true. At any rate, one of the Bernie columns was centered on Joni Mitchell.

There's a substantial unofficial National Lampoon site out there, dedicated to its golden era of the 70s, and one could probably come up with at least the issue for the Joni Mitchell story. Maybe if I have some spare time I'll give it a shot. There's a well-visited discussion forum.

Anyway, Joni was once "lampooned" by the masters.

Anyone who knows where to find this column, please let us know.

(Contributed by Mike Dooley)

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