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Bastille Day

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By John Filby
Bastille Day By John Filby. 14-07-2016 @ 1308 hrs. Bastille Day and everything French comes to mind. We have adopted many words from French (as well as every other language). We have taken on some cultural aspects too, just think of food and also fashion. French is widely spoken, and I think it is the second official language of sport such as the Olympics. We call the French frogs but wonder why? Don't they eat frog's legs? I can imagine a ward of amputee amphibians with prosthetic limbs or in wheelchairs. Words like beret and ballet and cuisine. What is a French Fry? Is it really from France? Or just one of those terms that evolved from nowhere or a memory of a child who ate chips like that once decades ago in Paris? Paris the city of love but I do recall my time there was not as picturesque as my memorial postcards. Yes, the Eiffel Tower was there but I recall it not being so monstrous in real life. The Pont Neuf was lovely too but don’t recall seeing the other eight. Again, was it a trick for the tourists to think Paris was gigantic and could have nine bridges? The Arch de Triumphe was there and I recall the traumatic experience on the gigantic roundabout where nobody knew what to do and it felt like we were trapped for ages going dizzy around it again and again. I do recall the fast food chain restaurants that sold alcohol, must be the only place that did. Also, restaurants were pet friendly with lap dogs and even larger canines sat with their humans whilst the people dined. Speaking of dogs, I never saw so much excrement on the sidewalks. No one picked it up. Bastille Day and all things French, some memories of my trip away in 1995-1996.

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John Filby said…
This was written on Bastille Day as part of quick writing session. I wrote it in less than ten minutes, a kid of stream of consciousness activity, guided by a prompt.
23 January 2024 at 12:51
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