Category: Fourre-tout

After a short illness René Di Maio peacefully passed away in his sleep April 14, 2016. He was 81 years old.

René was born in Marseille, France in 1935, and was a true Provencal.
As they say in Provence:

“Fai pas bon travaia quand la cigalo canto.” (It is not good to work when the cicada sings.)

He was issued from a family of fishermen and had a varied and colorful career.

He enrolled in the French merchant marine at the age of 14 and later on served in the French navy (with world famous Jacques Pépin).
Just like Jacques, René loved to cook.

René was a Jack-of-all-trades. Throughout his life he dwelled in various occupations and was in turn a fisherman, a taxi driver, a painter, a waiter and a maître d’.
In his heyday, in his fair city of Marseille, René was also a great dancer and won several competitions.

With Louis Toulon, Charlie Davantes and Marcel Parnell, he was one of the original founders of La Pétanque Marinière.
They launched the club in 1973 and gave it its actual name.

René was an excellent pointer and won many tournaments. He excelled in a technique called “jouer a la godille” (to spin your boule around an obstacle).
He was also an avid golfer who not too long ago managed a rare “hole in one”.

René was a complex character with a deadpan humor not always understood by everyone.
But he was above all a devoted family man who doted on his grandchildren.

 

He is survived by his wife Mireille, two sons and four grandchildren.

Alain

“A friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.” Aristotle –

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Everybody wants friends, the few people with whom we can share secrets and intimate thoughts without fear of betrayal.

But true friends are a rare commodity for friendship is a slow ripening fruit. It is a long process and much to the chagrin of many, there is no such a thing as an instant friend.

Individuals usually become friends in their formative years, or through shared experiences like college, army or even prison.
True friends though can be counted just on one hand, because as the saying goes “if you have too many friends, you have none”.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few.

People desperate for friends will sometimes turn to social media like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
There they can get “instant friends” at the click of a button, but these “friends” are not the genuine article and they all come with STD (Socially Transmitted Disease).

The minute you “hookup” with a friend, the hosting social media will grab the names (and all its accompanying data) all your friends and the friends of your friends.
Media Miners will immediately pounce on it.

These specialized data gatherers will analyze and extract as much information as possible and resell everything to merchants for a hefty price.
So, be wary of the information that the media prods you to volunteer.

Merchants are more than happy to pay for this. Instead of shooting in the dark, they can now focus on your interests and shower you with targeted ads.

So, “media friends” can be as much as a liability as a source of comfort.
And you cannot call any of those “chums” in the middle of the night for an emergency. They are just fair weather friends, ready to disappear at the first rumble of a storm.

If you want a true ever-loving friend, someone who will stick with you through thick and thin and never utter a single disparaging word against you, get a dog!

Alain

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives. Euripides

 

“Ninety-five percent of the time we get treated the way we invite people to treat us.”

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I read this in a book or a magazine a while ago, and I definitely agree with this.
You will often be treated according to the image that you project, especially in Europe where people frequently judge you based on your appearance.

Torn jeans (definitely not my cup of tea) might look cool in the US, but if you want decent service anywhere else, don’t show up looking like a Third World refugee.

It is always good to remember that “Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success”. Christopher Lasch

Even if you don’t have a penny to your name, appearance and demeanor matter. Probably even more.
A ready smile and friendly manners will unlock many doors that might otherwise remain shut if you don’t make the effort to be cordial.

But clothes and manners do not totally make the man. You can wear fancy duds and be betrayed by your body language.
In this day and age we communicate with words, but body posture has often a much greater impact than a glib tongue.
A jutted chin, a scowl, hand gestures will often expose the true personality of an individual.

To win hearts and minds you also need to be likable. And it is an elusive quality that few people possess.
If you are not simpatico, it is going to be a steep uphill battle to convince people that you can be trusted.

In political campaigns bravado works up to a point. Some people like bullies but most don’t.
When it comes to choose between a belligerent candidate and a rational individual, smart people will put their money not on a mouth that roars but on a brain that works.

To formulate a sensible opinion, watch less television and read more books and news magazines.

Alain

“The elections are run by the same industries that sell toothpaste on television.” Noam Chomsky

Alas!