Bastille Day

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Summit of Mt. Bierstadt, Colorado

I first learned about Bastille Day in 8th grade when the class read A Tale of Two Cities. In Paris years later, Jim and I had to walk to the footprint of the Bastille, laid out in paving stones at a busy circular intersection. There we drank coffee at a sidewalk cafe, next to a little bistro and watched the traffic zoom by, composed mostly of little beeping Smart cars and bicycles.
On Mt. Bierstadt, the traffic was also heavy, all of us panting, arms dangling down, feet shuffling up. Fortunately, there was no guillotine waiting at the end of the journey.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."