Today is July 13th, the day before Bastille Day (July 14th).
"Hey Lowell," you ask "What exactly is Bastille Day?"
Well, have a seat and let ol' Uncle Lowell tell you a story...
On May 5th 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General to hear their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate representing the common people (the two others were clergy and nobility) decided to break away and form a National Assembly. On June 20th the deputies of the Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by delegates of the other estates; Louis started to recognize their validity on June 27th. The assembly re-named itself the National Constituent Assembly on July 9th, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.
In the wake of the July 11th dismissal of the royal finance minister Jacques Necker, the people of Paris, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military, and seeking to gain arms for the general populace, stormed the Bastille, a prison which had often held people jailed on the basis of lettre de cachet, arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed. Besides holding a large cache of arms, the Bastille had been known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the siege in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance.
When the crowd (legend says it was organised by descendants of Knights Templar)— eventually reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises — proved a fair match for the fort's defenders, the commander of the Bastille, Governor de Launay capitulated and opened the gates to avoid a mutual massacre. However, possibly because of a misunderstanding, fighting resumed. Ninety-eight attackers and just one defender died in the actual fighting, but in the aftermath, De Launay and seven other defenders were killed, as was the 'prévôt es marchands' (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles.
The storming of the Bastille was more important as a rallying point and symbolic act of rebellion than a practical act of defiance.
Shortly after the storming of the Bastille, on August 4th feudalism was abolished and on August 26th, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was proclaimed.
Also. on July 14th 1958, a revolution in Iraq overthrew the monarchy creating National Day.
July 14th is also the birthday of Gerald R. Ford, Harry Dean Stanton, Vincent Pastore (Big Pussy on the Sopranos), and British actor Terry-Thomas (whose picture is at the top of this post) who died in 1990.
I had an unusual dream last night. I dreamt I was watching TV when a political commercial came on. It was just a picture of a high school student against a blue/white background. He said "Hi. I'm running for Senior Class President. I have a grade point average of 4." Then the camera pans back, widens it's view and darkens the student. From the right side I come into view. I say, "Hi. I'm running for Senior Class President. I have a grade point average of 1. I can only add when I sit in the back of the Mighty Tonka". At which point I hold up a yellow toy dump truck. I woke up laughing. And had blood coming out of my nose.
I hope a great week is had by all.
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