Shivering at the beach

Writing, to me, is not a chore but a necessity.

Especially while under house arrest… Because what would I do, if I did not have this magic crutch to lean on? Drink? beat my wife? throw things at my TV set? hit the streets and hurl pétanque boules at the cops… or at the rioters? I doubt that any of those things would relieve my weariness…

Yes, I am weary… The pandemic, the demonstrations, the vandalism, the underlying hate from all sides bubbling to the top… I find it very depressing…

Even though I never pretended to be an Emile Zola, a Victor Hugo, a Dumas, or even a Paul Féval, I still enjoy putting words and thoughts on paper. I am particularly fond of humor, lambasting pomposity and stupidity.

I was predestined to be a jester. The good fairy who leaned on my crib a long time ago decided my fate. You will be an imp, a teaser she decided. My last name is probably what inspired her. There is only a very short step from my actual patronym to the word effronté (cheeky) and this became my nickname in middle school.

I am not in middle school anymore but I have kept my impertinent spirit and I still like to make fun of people. But life is becoming increasingly complicated… It is now politically incorrect to make fun of almost anybody… I never liked the “politically correct” philosophy anyway and it presents a big handicap for me. I thrive on deflating big egos.

Nowadays, it is extremely problematic to pock fun at anybody without running into heavy flak. Are we drifting toward a quasi-religious state? “Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. “ Oh yeah? Don’t count me in Mister!
Not too long ago, it was a free for all… you could make fun of anything and anybody. Now sanctified subjects are like toilet paper… scarce.

But I know that people are more receptive to pictures than words. And as luck would have it, I love to snap pictures.
Yesterday, I was enticed to go to San Francisco’s Crissy Field East Beach. A very popular area. It was sunny in Marin County and we assumed that we would find the same weather conditions in San Francisco.

Well, nothing was farther than reality. The beach was engulfed with fog and it was cold and blustery. And we were pitifully underdressed. It was not terribly comfortable but it was still a very invigorating experience.

With my camera full of snapshots, we left the beach around noon. Back in Marin County is was 20 degrees warmer. We had lunch at the Boca pizzeria (plenty of open space) and called it a day.

I hope that you will like my collection of pictures and tell me about it. If you don’t, tough beans!

Ta ta for now…

Alain aka effronté