Category: Fourre-tout

I am not the greatest pétanque player in the world (or even in the county) but I love this pastime and I play at least twice a week.

I enjoy it greatly but I don’t fancy all the players equally. Some have a tendency to upset my delicate nervous system, and when they do, they derail my happy-go-lucky choo-choo.

Our weekly games are friendly encounters and should be played in a generous and forgiving spirit. When a boule’s position is difficult to assess, one should be gracious and (once in a while) accord it to the opponents.
If there is a difference of opinion, resolve it quickly and courteously.

And by the way (for those who don’t seem to know), the “shooter” is traditionally the quarterback. He calls the shots and his teammates abide by his decisions. Furthermore, there is no official “cochonnet thrower”; any player can grab and dispatch the “cochonnet”.

Then, when you are involved in your favorite pastime, you are supposed to pay attention to what’s going on. It is bad form to be oblivious and be constantly reminded that it is your turn to play. Any seasoned player (and we all have been playing a long time) should always know what to do next without being told.

Sometimes people play in a triplette formation; they then often argue endlessly about the strategy to follow.  This is another irritating nuisance that should be avoided.

Now… to win a game you need skills… and team cohesion. You all need to pull in the same direction… and never give up. Nothing riles me more than a defeatist attitude. You need to believe that a game is never lost until the opposing team scores the 13th point.

In my book, you keep firing with the same spirit until you are victorious or dead!

Is it just a pastime?

Maybe, but win you must scrogneugneu!

Alain

“When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less.” Paul Brown

Where is truth?

Right now everybody is looking for it, but it has not been seen or heard for quite a while and it has many people worried.
Where is that elusive creature hiding out?

Interestingly enough I could not even find a clear definition of that word in any publication. So, it seems that anybody feels free to adopt the brand of truth that suits him or her best.

Lately that poor thing has been abused and battered; by politicos, media and foreign powers. All kinds of strange “truths” are popping up everywhere and it is becoming very difficult to tell which article is genuine and which one is a fake.

And whom can you presently trust to speak candidly? Our elected representatives? Don’t make me laugh…

“He is a shifty-eyed goddamn liar…. he’s one of the few in the history of this country to run for high office talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and lying out of both sides.” Harry T.

Who could Harry be talking about? Anybody we know?

Some people claim that truth is dead and that you better forget about it. But you cannot do that. If you do, you may as well leave the country and take refuge on Pitcairn.

When truth is handled or massaged by a “populist” who repeatedly says, “believe me”, watch his nose. You will see it grow.

Truth can only be revealed by dedicated crusaders and it can be a very dangerous enterprise.

Like all endangered species, it should be kept in sanctuaries to protect it from poachers. If it is not defended it will wither away and you might end up living under regimes like the National Socialist German Workers’ party. Some people liked it; most abhorred it and fought it to the death.

Truth should be found and rehabilitated at all cost. It is a rare commodity and it is extremely difficult to live without it.

Alain

“Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela

My mother tongue is French and I spoke it daily until my 24th birthday. Then I moved to America, and not knowing a single soul there, I probably didn’t utter a single word of French for more than a year.

Expatriates come to America as bachelors or as married couples. I surmise that single people learn English faster, through sheer necessity… and often with the eager help of native girlfriends or boyfriends.
A married couple on the other hand will continue to speak its native tongue and don’t feel the same pressure to master English as bachelors.

For my part, I have lived in America twice as long as in France and my French is getting a little rusty. Since I only speak it once or twice a week (sometimes less) some words sometimes escape me. When it happens, I lazily plug the missing words with more familiar English terms.
In the long run, this bad practice will hurt my familiarity with my native language.

English is much simpler than French and much easier to master. It is also more practical. You can often express yourself with much fewer words than in any other Latin language. This is the reason why after a certain time, French immigrants start speaking a hodgepodge of French and English. Instead of saying “c’est formidable” for instance, it is much easier to simply say, “cool”.

But the French generally don’t like abbreviations. Jean-Michel will always remain Jean-Michel and practically never JM. Some people have tried to call me Al, but I strongly object to it. Alain it is and Alain it will remain.

I bet that some Americans would love to call the pope Frank or the Queen of England Lizzie but it would be a big “faux-pas”, probably punishable by Riding the Rail.

In the pétanque environment you can hear a variety of languages and accents. On the field I frequently hear Italian, Spanish, German, Swiss and of course French. This Tower of Babel context suits me fine.

I am fond of foreign languages and eager to learn, but even though I don’t use French as often as I would like, I remain highly partial to my roots. Quality French is celestial music to my ears.

« Pour tout homme de coeur, le culte qu’il a voue a sa langue maternelle est une chose sacrée. » Georges Isidore Barthe

“For every noble-hearted man, the worship that he has devoted to his mother tongue is a sacred thing!”

Alain