Thought for the Day - July 14,00

Subject: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Peter T.
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 09:44 AM

Interviewer to Chinese Communist Premier Chou En-Lai (1970s): "Premier, would you say that, on balance, the French Revolution has been a force for good or evil in the world?"

Chou En-Lai: "It is too soon to tell."

Happy Bastille Day.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 09:47 AM

Yes! Bastille Day! The day it all started? Y'know an ancestor of mine was there? Yep, a cerrtain Mathieu Richard...

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:09 AM

Which side was he on, Mbo?

I sometimes wonder, if Napoleon had won, would the French Revolution have been as dead in the water a couple of generations later as the Russian Revolution seems today?

There's a lot to be said in historical terms for losing in time. I just looked Napoleon up in the Forum search, and it came up with 50 song entries in the DT (mind a lot of them were duplicates). Wellington came up with 28. Lenin only had 19. And Stalin only had eight. But Nelson had 71. (Mind you that includes some Willie Nelson, so maybe it's a bit misleading...)

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:14 AM

It's a bit of a family joke, Kevin. It was a paper I had write once, where I was at the Bastille, as Mathieu Richard (French version of my name)...I was one the side of the folks who stormed it, you know, the good guys! Bastille a bas!

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Allan C.
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:24 AM

Mbo, my relatives were (presumably) on the other side - I'm related to the Marquis de Giradin.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Mbo
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:27 AM

WOW!!

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:52 AM

I love France, I love the French, I love French food, the French language, etc. I plan to WALLOW in it at an Alliance Française thing tomorrow. I will sing LOUD French folk songs. Wear blue, white and red. In that order. Vive la France! What I don't get is why Anglophones call it Bastille Day... any info on the origins of that? And I saw Spaw use the word Maven in the Why White thread! Woo woo!

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Allan C.
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 10:53 AM

Well, not a very big deal because it appears that the Marquis did not survive and all of his holdings were confiscated/destroyed. But, for her saftey, he had sent his daughter to live with my great, great grandfather. She was raised among his four sons. She married one of them.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 11:14 AM

How kewl and romantic sounding, Allan, of course I am sure it was also scarey, etc.!

This may sound stupid but isn't it known as Bastille day because that is the day they actually stormed the Bastille? Have any of you read City of Light, City of Dark by Marge Piercy? It is really well done and tells of the revolution, in a fictionalised way, from the standpoint of the women involved.

Twenty-three years ago, today, I came close to dying having my second daughter, last child, not knowing she would soon become adopted by a man I'd not yet met and married, and have the last name of La France. She strongly identifies with his French-Canadian heritage and always feels special about her b-day being today. I am just glad I am here and survived not only having her but raising her!**BG** Happy Birthday, daughter dear!

Thanks for the reminder, Peter.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 11:14 AM

drat! sorry for not turning off the html..

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: Peter T.
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 11:19 AM

When I was growing up in France, it was always called Bastille Day (or occasionaly Fete Nationale de la Bastille). The day they stormed the Bastille. I remember my first Bastille Day in 1955 when my father walked down the Champs Elysee at the head of the Canadian troops (he was the ranking general in France) -- one of the great days of his life. The streets full of flags, and the French were finally coming out of the post-War slump, and they had decided to party. I was in short pants at the time, and remember being picked up and kissed by all kinds of French women all day (I was alas much too young to take advantage of it).

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: GUEST,Mbo_at_ECU
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 11:26 AM

Peter, you lucky dog, you! Vive la Parisienne! What an awesome history, Allan! It would make a good book! And Mrrz, I'm glad there's someone else who does patriotic French things as well! I wear a tricolor ribbon on June 5th, and July 15th, and I sing French songs...and I'm not even French! You could say I'm a Francophile...(don't put us down, please)

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: GUEST,emily b
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 12:40 PM

Did you hear about the 600 mile long picnic the French are having today? There was a piece on public radio yesterday morning about it. Sounds like fun. To keep the sense of unity and community, they (whoever they are) were passing out identical tablecloths to everyone that wanted to participate. I'm not sure if they were trying to make a continuous picnic for real or just in spirit. I think each region was going to be celebrating their differences by featuring the foods of their area.

Too bad I can't afford to fly over for the weekend. A 600 mile long picnic in France would be something to experience.

Emily

Subject: RE: Thought for the Day - July 14,00
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Jul 00 - 01:07 PM

Gee, I wonder who has the ant concession....not to mention the outhouse contract.

Spaw