Category: Fourre-tout

A little while ago, a local pétanque player approached me and grilled me about becoming a “shooter”.

Well, I am not the most qualified person to give a pertinent answer, but I have my own beliefs…
First of all, anybody (regardless of age or sex) can be a shooter. You can start shooting at ten and keep going until your late eighties… maybe even later.

In order to become an acknowledged hitter, you need good eyesight, good coordination and a thick skin. A thick hide is necessary to shoulder the blame that will inevitably come your way after some lost games. A shooter’s failing is always more glaring than a pointer’s blunder.

“Champions all get kicked when they’re down.” Apolo Ohno

Then, you will need a lot of practice.
“Practice makes perfect. After a long time of practicing, our work will become natural, skillful, swift, and steady.” Bruce Lee

The shooter is usually recognized as the captain of the team and as the captain he has to make crucial decisions. The team relies on him/her to keep the enemy at bay. He is the sheepdog, the protector of the flock and he needs to strike when the opponents are getting too close.

But the defender has a limited amount of arrows in his quiver and he has to use each one judiciously. He has to decide when to strike or when to abstain and it is his prerogative.

The shooter also needs to exude confidence, the feeling that he can be relied upon. Just like airplane passengers put their trust in their pilot, teammates have to trust the shooter to get them out of a tight spot.

Shooting is exhilarating, but you can quickly go from hero to zero. And we all have bad hair days. Some days, despite trying hard, nothing works out. That’s when I invoke the deities on Mt Olympus.

The Olympians are capricious and just like human beings they can be easily offended. But they also have their “chouchou”. They will favor their protégé for a certain time and then lavish their affection on somebody else.

Just be sure to take advantage of the days when the gods had enough ambrosia for lunch. They are then magnanimous and even if you miss a shot, they will make your boule bounce on another boule and still score a point. Some ignorant people call it luck; I call it a gift from the Gods.

“True champions aren’t always the ones that win, but those with the most guts.” Mia Hamm

I do believe this. Audacity, then audacity again, always audacity!

Alain

Humans are vainglorious. Just because they are using messaging apps like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Wechat, etc. they believe that they are much smarter than animals.

Nothing could not be further from the truth… Way before the advent of the cell phone, beasties have been communicating  with means that are much more sophisticated than our pathetic little apps.

Scents are their invisible communication tool. Like cover intelligence agents, animals use “dead drops”. They surreptitiously leave encrypted messages in some selected spots and depart the scene with the same discreet way. Recipients retrieve their messages (sometimes in the dead of night) and respond, always with invisible ink.

My cat demands to go out every morning (at the same time) to check her “scented mail.” Nothing very different from what I am doing every day with my own computer.

Once outside, she first inspects the front of the house. She carefully sniffs every bush to see if there is any message. If she finds one, she reads it carefully with her nose. The more intricate the message, the more she concentrates.

Then she goes to the back of the house for the same meticulous inspection. No bush, flower or tree is left unchecked.

“Clearly, animals know more than we think, and think a great deal more than we know.” ― Irene M. Pepperberg

Message retrieving is important to my beastie. If I thwart her routine she gets understandingly upset and will show her displeasure by biting or scratching me, or both. I don’t hold a grudge; I understand the importance of keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances.

Once she has checked her mail, she goes for a nap because you cannot make a good decision without sleeping on it. And sleep she does. Probably ten hours a day…

 “I’ve met many thinkers and many cats, but the wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” ~ Hippolyte Taine

 So Silicon Valley hotshots don’t believe for a minute that you know best. Animals have untapped knowledge of and could teach you a thing or two.

Alain

PS: my cat is available for consultation

Sixteen teams (with a strong contingent from Sacramento) showed up yesterday at the Pierre Joske pétanque field in Marin County.

They were:

1. Doug Coleville & Shellee Davis
2. Tom Lee & Carmen Ellis
3. JC Etallaz & Beth Lysten
4. Hans Kurz & Sandra Shirkey
5. Jacques Gautier & Emily Etcheverry
6. Kevin Evoy & Barbara Hall
7. Alain Efron & Tamara Efron
8. Noel Marcovecchio & Robin Kehoe
9. Peter Wellington & Teri Sirico
10. Albert Woodbury & Caitlin Woodbury
11. Brendan Cohen & Lisa Vaughn
12. Phominick Lee & Michelle Dang
13. Charlie Davantes & Liv Kraft
14. Mike Lee & Maryanne Curley
15. Wolfie Kurz & Holly Sammons
16. Christophe Sarafian & Genevieve Etallaz

The day started rather well with an offering of coffee and pastries. But things seldom go as planned. My scheme for this event was to play 4 games, and spend the rest of the day taking pictures.

It did not exactly work that way. On our first game of the day we faced Wolfie and Holly who quickly dispatched us with a score of 13-4.
On our second game, we came against Albert and Caitlin Woodbury and due to Tamara’s superb pointing we won 13-3.
We met Phominick and Michelle Dang on our third game. It turned out to be a duel between Tamara and Phominick. Tamara pointed like a queen but Phominick’s murderous shots got the best of us and we went down in flames 5-13.
I was very impressed by the way by the shooting capabilities of the Sacramento’s formation.

So we ended up in Consolante.

On our fourth game of the day, strangely enough we faced Albert and Caitlin Woodbury again and we were successful again.
On our fifth (and unexpected) game we encountered Mike Lee and Maryanne Curley. After a rather lengthy match they overcame us 13-8.

When that game ended, it was already around 3:00 pm. Tamara who was already chomping at the bit, decamped in a hurry and I suited up for my second job as photographer.

I came just in time to witness Mike Lee and Maryanne Curley defeat (13-11) plucky Hans and Sandra in the Consolante’s finals.

Then I turned my attention to the Concours’ finals. It was strictly a (Sonoma) family fight.
Wolfie and Holly faced Kevin Evoy and Barbara Hall. After being led 10-1, Kevin and Barbara managed to close the gap but finally succumbed 8-13.
A deserved victory for Wolfie and especially Holly who can shoot like a pro when the situation demands it.

Final scores:

Concours
1^st place: Wolfie Kurz & Holly Sammons   $58.00 ea
2^nd place: Kevin Evoy & Barbara Hall           $48.00 ea
3^rd place: Phominick & Michelle Dang       $38.00 ea

Consolante
1^st place: Mike Lee & Maryanne Curley       $29.00 ea
2^nd place: Hans Kurz & Sandra Shirkey       $19.00 ea

Alain

PS: Thank you Kevin for the delicious smoked salmon and Jean-Claude Etallaz for the equally delicious cake.