Today is one of the biggest holidays in France. The French just call it July 14, but in English we call it Bastille Day. On July 14, 1789, the people of Paris were angry. King Louis XVI and his government were powerful, but they were not good, so the people attacked a prison called the Bastille, and they freed the prisoners. That was at the beginning of the French Revolution. After the French Revolution, France was a very different country. July 14 became a holiday 100 years later in 1880. These days, there are free concerts, people have picnics, and there are fireworks, but the biggest event is the military parade along the Champs-Elysees, Paris’s widest street.   (116 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I was leaving the dining room to go to bed last night when I heard a mechanical sound. It wasn’t very loud. It was coming from the dining table. There was nothing on the table that would make that noise. I looked under the table, but I couldn’t see anything there, either. Finally, I looked up at the wall. The clock was going crazy. The second hand wasn’t moving, but the minute hand was moving very fast. I remembered this happening before. We have a radio-controlled clock. Sometimes it stops, but it starts again and goes to the correct time. It must have stopped last night, and I saw it correcting itself. When I got up this morning, it was back to normal.   (123 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

These days, workers are looking bigger than usual. That’s because they are wearing cooling vests. Temperatures in summer are so high that people working outside are in danger of getting heat stroke. Cooling vests can help them to stay safe. The most common cooling vests in Japan have small electric fans in them. They cool the body by sending air through the vest. Both my wife and I know people who have cooling vests, and they tell us that these vests work very well. I don’t have one, but when I do nature walks at Fujimae Tidal Flat, I put a cooling wrap around my neck. Everyone, stay cool, and stay safe this summer.   (114 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I came home from work late Saturday afternoon and started watching the Japan Championships in Athletics on TV. First, I saw the final of the men’s 110 meter hurdles. Hurdles are very interesting to me because I have never tried them. They were never part of my P.E. program at school. It was a very, very close finish. Izumiya Shunsuke came from behind and beat Nomoto Shusei by just 1 second! Then, I saw the final jumps in the women’s long jump. It was another very, very close finish. Kora Ayaka beat Kimura Miu by just 1 centimeter! Kora’s result was 6m48 to Kimura’s 6m47!   (105 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Today is Tanabata. It is called the Star Festival in English. It celebrates the love of a princess named Orihime, the star Vega, for a cow herder named Hikoboshi, the star Altair. The God of the Heavens got angry at the couple because they were so in love that they stopped doing their work. He decided that they could only meet once a year at Tanabata. Vega and Altair are very bright stars, so you can see them easily. Vega is high in the sky, and Altair is closer to the horizon. Tanabata is also a time to write out a wish on a piece of paper. People put their wishes on stalks of bamboo so that they will come true. What are you going to wish for this year?  (130 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com