Whenever I wasn't in the US for "The Fourth"--American Independence Day--I was in France, for "The Fourth" and "Le Quatorze": the Fourteenth, a.k.a. Bastille Day.
Today's the day in France, and for Francophiles all over the world.
I count myself as one. But even if you're not, try to remember that American independence is intertwined with the toppling of the ancien regime in France. In both countries, revolutions were spawned by homegrown philosophers who questioned ideas of hereditary monarchy and nobility (even as, ahem, they owned slaves).
It's kind of ironic, really, that so many people in both countries celebrate their national holidays with picnics or barbecues in normally-tranquil parks and backyards--as fireworks explode, sometimes in the distance, sometimes not so far away.
And some of us, it's about the bike:
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| From Falling Off Bicycles |
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