What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again
I’m laughing at clouds, so dark up above,
The sun’s in my heart, and I’m ready for soup.”
Tamara initially signed up to play in this Soup & Singles tournament, but the day turned out to be cold and wet, and after much rumination, she finally nixed the idea.
As for myself, I reached for some old skiing underwear, added five layers of clothing, and hit the road toward Sonoma. I didn’t intend to play, just to document the event, and this is what I (briefly) did.
I was curious to see how many people would be crazy enough to splash around in water puddles to satisfy their passion. While on the road to Sonoma by the way, I noticed large patches of snow covering the surrounding hills. It was beautiful and very unusual for California. Unfortunately, I could not stop to take pictures.
I arrived at the field around 9:45 am, just in time to see the beginning of the tournament. Twenty-four (24) lunatics, bundled up in thick layers of clothing, hats, and gloves were present. For the incredulous, you need to remember that a true pétanque player is like a postal carrier. “Neither snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night can stop them.”
I had assumed that the women would be more reasonable and stay put, but no, no, no! What men do, women can do better… backward and in high heels. Holly, Loël, Wendy, Elise, and Christine were there, slugging it out with the boys. Incidentally, I was greatly surprised to discover that quintessential Ann K. was absent.
The men were less of a surprise. Even if we had a tornado warning, Jean-Michel would be there. And by Jove, he was. Bernard, his partner in crime was naturally there. Hans, Kevin, Patrick, Marco, and Colin would not miss a game and were also present. For a complete list of all the players, check one of my pictures.
I didn’t stick around very long, and after a little while I jumped into my horseless carriage and headed home. It turned out to be a very long trip. Somebody had the weird idea of repaving a long stretch of Highway 37 during the daytime and I got caught in a giant traffic jam.
I cannot give you the results of this tournament, but I can offer you a glimpse of it. Check the pictures that I quickly snapped yesterday to get an idea of what happened.
Keep dry and warm, and if need be, have an Irish Coffee to take the chill off.
Ta ta for now.
Alain
PS: watch a few pictures