Category: Fourre-tout

Once in a while, because of our inability to achieve a goal, we experience frustration.

But yesterday in Petaluma despite strong gusts of wind, there was a permanent cloud of frustration hanging all over the pétanque field.
In all my born days I have never heard so many “merde” or seen so much hand wringing than yesterday at the Oak Hill Park.

The pétanque field in Petaluma is (let me try to find the right word) highly unpredictable. The ground is strewn with small pebbles that will deflect just about any unlucky boule landing on it. And yesterday you needed a lot of luck.

The poor slobs (like me) who seldom venture to Oak Hill Park were bogged down in a permanent state of frustration. Pebbles thwarted so many of my shots, that I could barely contain myself. As the saying goes, I had just about all I could take of myself.

Even Petalumians  (who play there regularly) where struggling. But I am ahead of myself. The opposing teams were as follows:

For Marin we had:

1- Sandra Shirkey, Mark Shirkey, Noel Marcovecchio
2- Alain Efron, Francois Moser, Sabine Mattei
3- Henry Wessel, Calvert Barron, Marc Davantes
4- Charlie Davantes, Liv Kraft, Helga Facchini

On the Petaluma side:

1- Bleys Rose, David Hale, Dennis Zerbo
2- Ed Porto, Hans Kurz, Larry Brown
3- David Lindsay, Jimmy Johnson, Dougie Coleville
4- Albert Woodbury, Caitlin Woodbury, John Virbill

On our second encounter with Petaluma at Oak Hill Park, we didn’t do that much better than in our first encounter.
Petaluma won 11 games and Marin 5.

As a (poor) excuse, I choose to blame the weather. It was cold and extremely windy and few people play well entangled in a heavy jacket.

The saving grace for Marin, was the brilliant performance of the Henry, Calvert and Marc Davantes team. They won 3 out of 4 games and barely lost their last game 10/13.
We might have to throw a parade for them in Marin.

On the Petaluma side, Ed Porto, Hans Kurz and Larry Brown also won 3 games.

The proceeds from both encounters were split between the 2 clubs.

In conclusion:

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

Alain

Another mass killing! Another senseless tragedy that could have been avoided.

But in America we are kind of blasé about this sort of thing. It is common and it is happening with a sickening regularity. And what are we doing about it besides crying, wringing our hands, making emotional speeches and lighting candles?
Nothing! Absolutely nothing.

Let’s be realistic: assault weapons are murdering people all over the country and if we want to stop the carnage, these weapons of war have to be banned!

Never mind the convenient scapegoat of mental illness. These individuals are just a small part of the problem. To get rid of this killing epidemic, we need to eliminate the means of mass destruction. This country has been plagued by automatic assault weapons for a long time and something needs to be done about it.

Let’s not delude ourselves. We are all a bunch of sheep following a few rams. We are basically led by a small minority wielding too much power. And the driving force behind power is as usual money. A few people with lots of cash are coercing our obliging (money-hungry) politicians into preventing sane public safety measures to be implemented.

The gun lobby is wielding an unimaginable amount of power and the spotlight of public opinion should be directed to this organization and their minions.
A lot of powerful moguls have been brought down through the means of “sexual harassment” shaming. The same course of action (killing shaming) ought to be used against venal politicians and their godfathers.

You need to understand that the primary goal of a politician is survival. In order to be reelected, he constantly needs to raise money, and the life-saving donations are coming from just a few affluent dudes. If you can rely on those patrons, you reelection is assured. So let’s not rock the boat and offend these nice philanthropists who are so faithfully taking care of you.

As long as these killings are not affecting my family and my wallet, we can live with it. Right?

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” —Malala Yousafzai

In conclusion:

Speak up. Pressure your elected representative or don’t complain.

Alain

(Initially drafted in October 2005)

I am a straight shooter. Ask me how to get from point A to point B and I’ll tell you, just like that. Thirty seconds and it’s done! But for some people, it seems to be an almost impossible task.

My mother used to be such a person. I sometimes called her QAD (Queen Of Digression). This propensity of hers could be amusing or highly annoying, depending on how much time you had on your hands.

– Mother, what was the name of Madame Charpentier’s dog?
– Madame Charpentier? You mean the butcher’s wife?
– Yes, the butcher’s wife.
– The butcher’s wife… she was an odd woman… Did you know that her father used to get drunk every Saturday night? He would carouse at the tavern with his good for nothing friends, and continue drinking at home after Le Chien qui Fume had closed… But what do you expect from a Socialist? Before the War, everybody in France was socialist and look where it took us…

– Mother, the dog’s name?
– What dog?
– Madame Charpentier’s…
– The butcher’s wife?
– Yes…
– In my book, the butcher is a good lad. Always polite and pleasant. Always calls you by your name… regularly enquires about your family… not like the butcher on rue de Bretagne… you know the red haired guy with a southern accent. He must be Corsican or something like that.
And Corsica is not worth the trouble it is giving us. They want independence? Give them independence and let them starve. Look at all these African countries… they are all independent now. And what did it get them? Wars, diseases, starvation…

– Mother, the dog’s name?
– Oh you are so impatient… I am getting to it. You young people are all alike. You want everything right away. When I was young, people were more polite and more patient. Do you know that in my days, before you could kiss a girl you had to show that you were an upstanding young man? Today, young people kiss on the first date and hop in bed before even knowing the name of…

– The name Mother, the name?
– What name?
– The name of Madame Charpentier’s dog?
– The name? Oh yes… You mean the black one?
– Yes
– I totally forgot… Sorry. But you seem to be in a hurry… Anything wrong?
– No Mother, everything is fine.

Ultimately

People who digress endlessly are not at the top of the list of my Bêtes Noires, but some days, when it’s hot and muggy, they come dangerously close to light the fuse of my righteous wrath.

Alain