One of these belongs to the University of California at Berkly

The other day was the 14th, Bastille Day. Lots of stuff going down round here, we recently got a new prez, Independence Day in the States, the Tour de France, and yesterday's holiday.

Happily, the 4th was just another day for us. We probably BBQed, I may,or may not have had a few beers. Every day here is a holiday.

See?

The Tour. I am kinda getting into it. It's on all day, every day, goes through all of France, the TV people show  some amazing shots of castles, natural formations, bitchen villages, and slices of French life. The whole juicing thing is kinda funny to me. As I see it, these guys are athletes, right? Competitive, by definition. Their lives are all about getting an edge over the other guy, the other team, country, whatever. Why not use steroids? Who cares? Look at a linebacker for any American football team. Does anyone really think that human beings are built like that? Look at these bike racers. From the waist up, they could be victims of famine, but the Incredible Hulk should have legs like that. They are friggin huge! Like, comically huge! And, of course,the poop face when they are sprinting for the finish line.

Poop face!

Yesterday was Bastille Day, French Independence day. There is the usual fireworks, and celebrations, and drunk driving arrests, as in the States, but the parade in Paris was quite different than parades back home. 4th of July parades are, and correct my if I'm wrong, High School marching bands, fireman, shriners, some floats, cops on horseback, and the like, right? I seem to remember a trucking outfit I drove for having a couple trucks in one, but that could have been a different parade.

In other words,this.

A good time is had by all. The parade in Paris was,at least the part I saw on TV, all military hardware, Firemen, cops, military aircraft, cop helicopters, and the like. Really impressive.

It was a hell of a show. At the end, there were these 4 elite paratroopers, they jumped out of a hovering helicopter, and floated down in formation, sitting on each others parachutes,like a ladder. 3 of them landed safely, without incident, but 1 landed on some cobblestones, and blew up his knee. Prez Holland is making the rounds after the thing was over, and goes to shake the guys hand. It was pretty cool. Here is a link.

http://www.francetv.fr/info/video-un-parachutiste-se-blesse-a-l-atterrissage-place-de-la-concorde_118759.html

The night of the 13th, we drove to Fort St. Eynard,

Here,

to see fireworks in and around Grenoble. Now, Grenoble has an elevation of about 200 meters, and the fort is on a cliff, above the Grenoble valley, at 1330 meters in elevation. Over a kilometer higher, with an unobstructed view. It was pretty cool. We could see, at one point, 7 different fireworks shows at once. My pictures suck, but here goes...

Super. Thats all I got. Peace.

Happedy hap haps

WELP, I am officially unemployed. It ended yesterday,the 9th. The intimidation, abuse, belittling and bigotry are officially a thing of the past, forever. Today starts a new chapter in your hero's life. One filled with adventure and babes! Robots! Dinosaurs! Awesome!

All seriousness aside, I am going back to cooking. I was in the shower, doing what I do best ( not that), and I think that the last time I was really happy at work was when I was cooking. I like the atmosphere. Restaurants are,by necessity, staffed by nuts, and I like nuts. A bit of crazy is good. I think you find the same in tattoo shops, indy motorcycle shops, and theaters. So, I am going to, as I have said here before, open a food truck. It will be called Route 66, and it will serve hamburgers,cheeseburgers, fries,onion rings, and the like. It will be unique here in Grenoble, but not unique in France. It will be successful, and FUN.

Speaking of abuse, I have had to separate myself from my brother. He suddenly became very abusive toward me and Jessica, making impossible threats, accusing us of things... Real schoolyard bully behavior. He has done this sort of thing before, and I have always forgiven and forgotten, but this time is different. I cannot have such negative people in my life, even if they are family, so I have needed to step away. Some might think that I  am turning my back on my family,and that is fine. I don't see it that way, it's just for my family's safety,and my mental health. I believe he is dangerous and unbalanced, so, goodbye for now, K. Until you can clean up your own kitchen, please stay away from mine.


Did you know that I am not 20 years old anymore? Neither did I!! I was on my bike, being the Action Sports Hero that I was born to be, and I fell off. Bent my Fuck You finger back towards the back of my hand. This was just before June 17, Fathers Day.

Exactly like this.

Anyhoo, it's been 3 weeks now, and the pain is mostly gone but the swelling is still present, and it doesn't like to move so much. Its not broken, but the Doctor says that I might need surgery anyway. WOOT! Then, last week, I responsibly removed the splint, again, grabbed my bike and my kid, and hit the same trail! Fell again! Using skills taught to me by ninjas in the far east (Indiana) ( HOOSIERS!! WOO!!!), I deftly broke my fall by impaling my wrist on the crank gear teeth on my bike. Picture it. On a steep mountainside, no cell service, on a weekday so few if any hikers, bleeding like a stuck pig with 2 fresh gouges in your wrist. With your slightly panicked 14 year old. Good times. Adventures suck when you are having them. Long story short, I am now banned ( grounded) from my bike until I have healed somewhat. Taaaaariffic.

My mom will be here in a couple weeks, so we are all pretty excited about that. It's gonna be pretty low key, no GIANT parties, a barbecue on the 28th, a day trip to Nyons, another to Lyon, a lazy boat ride in Pont-en-Royans, and a lot of lizard style lazin in the sun. Cow tipping. Fondues. Wine. You know,the usual nightmarish things one must endure, living in a third world shithole like France.

That's all I got. Peace.

The happenin haps

Really,just the same old,same old,as the kids say. My job will be over July 4, I have been hiking and biking a lot,  and I am still on track to start My Own Business. Lots and lots of family drama, here and back in the States. My mother will be here in three weeks,or so,and will be staying three weeks. Life here in the Alps is boring as shit, and that is how we like it. We have a whole bunch of new cows, and they are super friendly. I have taken a bunch of new pictures, you can find em https://www.facebook.com/picturesoffrance right there. I am really into graffiti.

Daniel is out of school for the year, and I hope next year goes better than this one did. It didn't go bad, but this whole teenage thing... I dunno. I hope this passes.

Thats about it, for now. No news, I guess, is good news.