Category: Fourre-tout

 

Confounding the doubters, the April 9 picnic (Sausages & Lentils) long held hostage by a capricious weather, finally came to fruition.

On Saturday morning, like a mercurial diva given to unpredictable changes, Mother Nature wavered between short blue skies and hard spring showers.

This constant dithering made it very difficult for the club organizers to reach the right decision. To cancel or not to cancel the event, that was the question.
And like Ike on D-Day LPM president Christine Cragg hoped and prayed for a break in the weather. With troops massed in coastal harbors, and a large supply of food on hand, Christine cast her fate to the wind and finally resolved to go ahead.

She knew that in case of failure she would be blamed, and like Ike she kept a second message in her back pocket that read:

“Our landings in the Marin County area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

On Sunday though, the weather held steady and the operation Sausages & Lentils was on. Unfortunately the playing field remained spongy, mushy, saturated, waterlogged, mucky, muddy, swampy… pick your term, and highly unpredictable.

Despite the adverse conditions seen on Saturday (as shown in the first pictures of my album) hardcore players decided to compete and came from all over the Bay Area. We were particularly glad to welcome (for the first time in Marin I believe) Marc Poinsignon & Co. the infamous Peninsula Pétanque gang.
Part of the celebration was also Alain Briant who with Marc, is my old partner in crime.

We were glad to see Clea Messiani and Paul Tucker from San Francisco.

Twenty-two (22) doublettes lined up for the tournament and there were:

1. J-C Etallaz & Heidi Rytter 2.Marc Di Maio & Liliane Sebban 3.Doug Colville & Noah Sonet 4.Gilbert & Wyatt 5.Louis-Jean Marsaa & Minette Etallaz 6.Mark Shirkey & Sandra Shirkey 7.Maurice S. & Sandra S. 8.J-Michel Poulnot & Rich Mendoza 9.Eric Thiebault & Eva Lofaro 10.Michel Rattaire & Suzanne 11.Evan Falcone & Bernard Rattaire 12.Albert Woodbury & Tamara Efron 13.Bernard Passemar & Kathy 14.Les Stone & Clea Messiani 15.Joe La Torre & Nancy Jencks 16.Gustave Foucher & Larry Cragg 17.Jacques Rattaire & Liza Moran 18.Alain Briant & Teri Thiebault 19.David Lindsay & Mark P. 20.Noel Marcovecchio & J-C Etallaz 21.Brigitte Moran & Christina 22.Alain Efron & Mireille Di Maio

The weather was OK but on the frigid side. The smart players wore layers of clothes and peeled them off as the temperature slowly rose. A great salute by the way to Verena Rytter and Liv Kraft for keeping scores in a less than comfortable situation.

The lunch was prepared by Mattei Inc. (Sabine and Roger Mattei) and it was very good. And eating outdoors among friends always makes it doubly pleasurable. Than you Roger, Sabine… and my good pal César.
In my book, canines are always welcome.

Four games were played after lunch.
As I previously mentioned it, the spongy field made games unusually difficult. It was basically a game of “plombés” and “au fer” shots. And “plombés” had to be accurate, for the boule would hit the ground and buried itself in the place it landed.
When it came to shooting, the only option was “au fer”. If you shot “a la raspaille” your boule would roll and bounce over the target.

A few times during the tournament Michel Rattaire (a very good player by the way) would take his faithful “clairon” (bugle) and sound “reveille”. Everybody (especially me) loved it. We need to steal this guy and retain him on a permanent basis.

At the end of the day, the top dogs were:

1^st place: Jean-Michel (Le Facteur) and Rich Mendoza
2^nd place: Doug Colville & Noah Sonet
3^rd place: Marc Di Maio & Liliane Sebban

Alain

Your comments are welcome.

PS: To look at photos of this event and listen to the accompanying music, turn your computer’s sound on and click on the link “My Photos” located on the right side of the home page. For best viewing, go “Full Screen”.

The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets. Al McGuire

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I will never praise enough the protective and curative properties of laughter.
More than anything else, a good sense of humor is the quality that you wish the good fairy would bestow on your cradle.
It will be your survival kit, your shield, your flak jacket against the vicissitudes of life.

Never mind beauty; it is fleeting.
Never mind thoughtfulness; it is for wimps.
Never mind charisma; unless you run for office or aim for the papacy.

Humor is what attracts the girls, protects you from bullies and will give you a pass to the best venues in the world. It is Scheherazade Redux. It will give you at least 1000 days to extricate yourself from the toughest spots.

Humor allows you to take the edge off of once taboo subjects such as sex, religion and politics and make it palatable to the self-righteous crowds. You can almost say anything if you season it properly with giggling spices.

Laughter is welcome by most but feared by autocrats and religious zealots. For it is a difficult foe. Attacking laughter is a cardinal sin. It is like bashing Santa Claus. Unthinkable! Inconceivable!

The only effective weapon against laughter is kryptonite. And kryptonite, ardently pursued by bullies of all kinds, is extremely rare and hard to find. So, no matter what, the day belongs to the one that leaves you laughing.

There is one only one taboo against laughter. You cannot laugh at the expense of the weak or defenseless. It would be like killing baby seals. Absolutely detestable.
Except for that, nothing and nobody is off-limits.

Ruffle your constituents’ feathers and it the constituents’ duty to fight back by laughing at the offender, regardless of his rank and regardless of his wealth.

Eat, drink and be merry for nobody knows what tomorrow will be.

Alain ?

 

The umpire is the most helpful guy of the Concours; he is even willing to get on his knees to help us.

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Wednesday April 5 marked the opening of the Pétanque Marinière Spring League and I don’t mind saying that it was very successful.

Thirty-eight (38) people of all stripes showed up to play and it almost felt like a regularly scheduled tournament day.

People came in droves from all parts of the Bay Area and we owe it mainly to Brigitte Moran, our fighting hausfrau.
I suspect that people would not dare to refuse her for fear of being kneed in the groin or whacked on the head by her long sword.

Regardless, it was a very well attended affair and one should remember that the proceeds of this event end up in the coffers of the club and help us revitalize our organization.
Brigitte has done a lot to recruit new members and our once unadventurous club is poised to become one of the most popular associations of the Bay Area.
A prerequisite to play is the League by the way, is that pétanque aspirants have to agree to join our club.

The Spring League being played during working days’ evenings (when people walk their children or dogs) gives us an above average exposure and the more participants promenaders see on the field, the better for it is for us.

We are not a bunch of weirdos anymore, we are becoming mainstream.

Hail  Brigitte, our Maid of Orleans!

Alain  ?