Bastille Day 2006

Here is an article that came on in the Nashville Rage about the Bastille Day Party last week. The party was at the the French House where Carey, Jocelyne, Selena and Irene live. I didn't get to take too many pictures but there are a few at the end.


Ain't No Party Like a Bastille Day Party
by Heather Byrd

Believe it or not, I have been known to throw a few good house parties in my time. My career as a party gal started in eighth grade when my mom graciously allowed me to staple 40 strands of Christmas lights to the living room ceiling and invite 150 of my closest pals over for secretly spiked punch, spin the bottle and disco dance-offs. In high school I managed to pull off a couple of huge house parties without my mom ever finding out until that one time when my crew decided to take full advantage of her new camcorder and record all of our shenanigans. We cleaned up the entire mess from the party but left the tape behind in the VCR and I came home from school on Monday afternoon to find my mom glued to the TV watching all the shocking details. I think my official grounding just ended sometime last year.

But in all of my wildest moments of sheer rebellion within the confines of my home, I never encountered anything like what I saw on Friday night. I had heard about the infamous Bastille Day Party on Belmont for several years but I had never attended until this past weekend. So, after receiving a few email invites from pals including one of the house inhabitants, Carey James, I decided to check it out. Even before arriving, phone calls and text messages from the party began inundating my phone. I got a cryptic and barely audible voicemail from famed local photographer Tommy Barrett, something to the effect of, ''naked people … swimming pool … boinking … BYOB … bring yo' ass!'' And so I did. I made my way down Belmont, not even sure of the exact address of my destination. Luckily the party was not at all hard to find as cars were lined on the street from I-440 to Woodmont. I managed to find a parking spot and then followed the sounds of music, giggles and squeals of delight from partygoers up to the sprawling stone home of a French woman named Jocelyne Bezzibatani.

You know that the party hosts are well prepared for a large gathering when they have a port-a-poo delivered to their front yard for the occasion. And it's a good thing too because there were people crawling out of every crevice! By my estimate, there must have been more than 400 attendees, and by the time I arrived they had all partaken in their fair share of crazy concoctions, as they seemed to have lost every last one of their inhibitions. There were naked people frolicking in the pool. There were naked people frolicking near the pool. There were even naked people frolicking in the front yard! There were clothed people standing around watching all the naked people. There were people smoking molasses tobacco out of a hookah. There was even a man dressed as a garden gnome and a surly muchacho in a sombrero wandering about aimlessly. It was a feast for the eyes! It was easily the biggest house party I have ever seen and apparently it has been going on at the same house on the same day each year for almost fifteen years!

By 2:30am, the cops had just about all they could take and began issuing parking tickets to all the cars that lined the street, generating some serious revenue for the city of Nashville. The party was officially over. I myself got an $11 ticket, but let me tell ya, it was a small price to pay to witness all the revelry. What I can say is that if you were not there this time around, you better be sure to make plans to attend next year.

Bastille Day 2006

The Melting Pot

The 4th of July was celebrated at The French House. We bought enough food to feed an army. I had grill duty that day cooking up salmon again by special request. It was interesting to celebrate with my eclectic and international group of friends. Several countries were represented. Aside from the usual anglo-Americans, there were people from the following countries: Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Spain, France, Peru and Columbia. Many of us are mixed blooded, reflecting the population of the future; I am a mixture of Asian and European and our friend Kaz is Blackanese (half black, half Japanese). We had a great time hanging out by the pool. The weather was great, it was a nice lazy day and there was lots to eat. It was amusing watching the group play with the beach ball, calling out the country they are from each time they hit the ball. America is truly the melting pot of the world.

Seasons of Change

The month of June started with both my tenants giving notice. Tony, who rented the one bedroom apartment in the walkout basement of my home, will be gone this month. He has been an almost invisible and awesome tenant. Barry, a dear friend who has been renting one of the 3 rooms upstairs, bought a great place a few blocks away. Barry will be leaving in a month and a half. I am very happy for him and wish him the very best.

The chopping table/island was a gift from Barry. I think it works out very well in the kitchen area.

The bathroom at the onset needed lots of work, some of which I did myself. I am very happy with the way everything turned out.

This means lots of changes at home. With new people, energy transmutes and adjusts. As someone who enjoys change, I am looking forward to this new social landscape.

These pictures of the apartment were taken in August of 2005 shortly after I remodeled the basement area.

I also posted new pictures of my recently redone living area on the Nashville page of my website.