Bon Bastille et Joyeux Quatorze Juillet

I am not French, but my first name is. So, from my first name to you, Happy Bastille!

Today, my first name celebrated France's sorta kinda independence day. Philly had its own Jour de la Bastille on Saturday, with the beloved Eastern State Penitentiary serving as La Bastille. I went with my friend Judy, and we witnessed the 14th annual reenactment of Marie Antoinette's beheading. Yes, that had nothing to do with the actual storming of the Bastille...which was kind of lack luster (but significant!) compared to someone's head being chopped off for saying things like "Let them eat cake."

In Philly, though, they eat Tastykakes.

So, in the reenactment (please go next year if you've never been), "Marie Antoinette" is sitting at the top of "La Bastille", far removed from the reality of the "peasants" below, who stood outside reading their grievances about Karl Rove-s-pierre, John Street standing in line for an iPhone, the lack of a star 76er.... So, she's sitting up top, drinking her champagne, and when the peasants cry, "The people have no bread," she screams, "Let them eat Tastykakes!" Then 2000 packages of Tastykakes are thrown from the tower onto Fairmount Ave. Then, she's brought down with cries of "We want the Queen!" The unmemorized scripted reenactment continued at the real live guillotine (in Philly, we pronounce those l's) in the middle of the street in front of "La Bastille". This Marie Antoinette, while dodging the Tastykake missiles being thrown from a disturbingly genuinely angry Philly/French crowd, sweet talks her way out of getting the chop. Instead, the executioner slices some watermelons to appease the crowd who just kind of wanted to see things sliced by a big ol' knife. I know I did.

As for pics...I took my medium format film camera (Holga!) and I'm having the film developed. So, as soon as I get that back, (hopefully I got something...I'm a little iffy with the Holga) I'll post. Until then, à bientôt (laters).