Happy Bastille Day to all you French and Francophiles out
there!I am proud of my French heritage
and the great contributions the French have made to our concept of freedom in America
including Lady Liberty.
I think my favorite French person of all time was Voltaire
the writer of Candide and other wonderful books.The Enlightenment in general was a fabulous
French movement and crucial to modern day democracy.
France
also helped authenticate American Jazz as a true art form for the rest of the
world.Perhaps the French attitudes
towards African American talent also opened a lot of minds towards acceptance
and tolerance throughout the world.Great musicians like Miles Davis felt very much at home there as did
many other Jazz greats.
Then there are all the wonderful French delicacies I learned
to enjoy with my Aragonese grandmother.The joys of a fine French perfume, haute couture, creamy cheeses, the international
span of the language and the elegance of the culture.My grandmother would take me to visit an old Hungarian
couple in our neighborhood in Queens and speak
to them for hours in French.I loved
every minute.The shared tea and snacks
in such a delicate and delightful way.It opened my eyes to how a shared language could open barriers and I've
been very interested in greeting people in their own language ever since.
Interesting enough, my grandmother also introduced me to
Jazz and told me it was the music of my culture as an American.
