Shed story

La Pétanque Marinière (the Marin County Pétanque club) has been in need of a tool shed for a long time and up to now, not much had been done about it.

As far as I can remember, the first person to bring up that subject in recent years was Ken Lee.
He proposed to buy a shipping container (a large metal box used for the transportation of goods) to serve as the club’s tool shed.
At the time, I didn’t think that such a structure would sit well in the middle of a bucolic setting; I also thought that it might attract undue attention.
While being in favor of purchasing a tool shed, I preferred a more subdued model like the popular “Tuff Shed” construction.
But the Tuff Shed proposal was rejected because it was not deemed theft-proof, and the shed idea lay dormant for a few years.

Then, a little while ago, almost overnight, a container-like structure appeared on the dog park adjacent to our field.
Our people suddenly wondered “why not us?” If the dog park people could do, so could we.

Spurred by Roger and Sabine Mattei (who did all the research), the board approved the purchase and installation of a mini-container.

On sunny March 18, the 3 M’s (Marchand, Moser and Mattei) came to the field to prepare the ground. They cleared a section bordering the pétanque field and laid four 8 x 8 wooden beams to support the heavy metal box.

One week later, on a rainy day, a flatbed truck delivered the container.
The thing looked like it had seen better days, but I was re-assured that after a fresh coat of paint it would look good enough to pass muster.
The truck driver slowly raised the bed of his truck and after a few tense minutes, the container (weighing close to 5000 lbs) slid unto the wooden beams lying on the ground. After the box settled, I could almost hear a palpable sigh of relief from everybody present.

Unfortunately, a rainstorm thwarted our plans.
The weather bureau announced that it would rain intermittently for a week thus preventing us from immediately painting (and camouflaging) the container.
We had to wait to complete the operation.

On April 7, the mighty MMM’s + D (Davantes) showed up again.
François Moser (aka Heisenberg) seconded by Roger Mattei started to paint the outside of the container.
He used a spray gun and 30 minutes (and about 2 gallons of paint) later the outside of the box looked rejuvenated.
With some paint left, it was decided to spray the interior of the box as well and this was promptly done.

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In the meantime, Alain Marchand and Charlie Davantes trimmed and reinforced the wooden planks in the immediate vicinity of the container.
They did this to allow for a clear path to the storage shed.

Not satisfied with this, they attacked the tables that used to sit under a now defunct tree.
These tables were bolted to metal rods embedded in concrete blocks buried in the ground, and in order to move them the rods had to be cut.
Using a battery-operated electric saw Alain and Francois alternated to get the job done.
Freed from their anchors, the tables were then finally dragged to their present location.

The entire operation started around 9:30 a.m. and was completed around 12:00 noon. Two hours and a half of backbreaking work.

I think that we owe these lads a big debt of gratitude.
Next time you see any of them, the least you could do is to shake their hand and let them know how much you appreciate their hard work.

Personally, I think that to properly complete the launching of our new ship, I meant shed, we ought to christen it with a bottle of champagne.

In any case, I propose three hearty cheers for the MMM’s and the big D!

Alain

To look at photos of this event and listen to the accompanying background music, turn the sound on, and click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page.

 

Sausages and lentils picnic

Yesterday in Marin County, Antiques Show enthusiasts and pétanque players engaged in a subtle parking war. I am sorry to say that overwhelmed by the sheer number of treasure hunters the pétanque players lost that conflict and had to scramble for parking spaces.

My online dictionary defines “antiques” as follows: “Collectible objects that have high value because of their considerable age”.
America is one of the few countries where “the considerable age” is generally less than fifty and where one can become an antique in his own lifetime.

Nevertheless, our traditional “Sausages & Lens picnic” went well and this was due in part to Minou, our official cook.
IMG_3879It might not be common knowledge, but Jean-Claude Etallaz (from the celebrated Minou & Minette duo) hails from the French region of Savoy and as a « savoyard » he must cook his sausages with white wine. Some of the wine I understand goes into the cooking pot and some (I suspect) finds its way into Jean-Claude’s throat. It is called a balanced performance.
Once again he did a splendid job and I heard nothing but compliments about his gig.

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The lentils I was told were prepared (without wine) by our own top dog, Christine Cragg.
A few of us were also privileged to sample Alain Marchand’s excellent “flan”. Merci monsieur Marchand!

While people chomped on the sausages, they might not have noticed our new tool shed discreetly tucked away in the back of the court.
This structure was badly needed and now, thanks to Sabine Mattei (who did the research) Alain Marchand, Francois Moser, Roger Mattei and Charlie Davantes who provided the heavy lifting, we finally have a secure place to store our cooking equipment and various tools.
I won’t dwell on this story right here, but the full account of this affair (with scores of pictures) will be published on this blog very soon.

As far as the “tournament” was concerned, it was a friendly happening open to all and there was none of the harsh competitiveness generally associated with “official” events.

The contestants were:

  1. Bill Hansen & Mireille Di Maio
  2. Philippe Arnaud & Jim Johnson
  3. JC Bunand & Gustave Foucher
  4. Joss Krauer & John Krauer
  5. Shannon Bowman & Christine Jones
  6. Etienne Rijkheer & John Morrison
  7. Steve Jones & Bernadette BB
  8. Bernard Passmar & Claudie Chourré
  9. Blaise West & Sabine Mattei
  10. JC Etallaz & JM Poulnot
  11. Ken Lee & Calvert Barron
  12. Patrick Vaslet & Larry Cragg
  13. Eric Jarrey & Robert Belforte
  14. Alain Gusella & Eva Lofaro
  15. Joe La Torre & Minette
  16. Alain Efron & Henry Wessel
  17. François Moser & Teri Thiebault
  18. Ed Porto & Christine Cragg

After a random pairing, three games were played after lunch and no scores were recorded.
The gods smiled on me when they gave me Henry Wessel as a partner.
Thanks to Henry’s excellent pointing, we managed to win 3 games out of 3.
Especially satisfying was the last game where after being led 4 to 9 we managed to pull (by the skin of our teeth) a 13 to 12 victory.

Many people were surprised to see Alain Gusella among the contestants. A month after suffering a stroke he was back on the field fiercely determined to make an early comeback. More power to him.

The party was over around five thirty and many tournament participants helped to store cooking and pétanque items in our new shed. Thanks a lot!

Yesterday I didn’t take too many pictures. Very few as a matter of fact. I was too busy schmoozing and gossiping. Sorry about that.
If I get a substantial salary increase I promise to try harder next time.

Alain

Oldies but goodies

It is sometimes difficult to imagine (especially for whippersnappers) that grizzled old codgers were once cute babies and energetic, attractive grownups. But as unbelievable as it sounds, they were.

These people might be now up in years, but as the name “oldies” implies they were once very popular.
You might be surprised to discover who those individuals are and how they turned out.

IMG_0025As promised, I have assembled a collection of pictures that are at least 30 years old and pertaining to people that you know or heard of.
Many of these shots are in black and white, but are in some respects more striking than color pictures.

I have not identified the protagonists of this exhibit, but if you show me yours, I will show you mine or at least tell you later who these mystery people are.

If you care to look at this album you will see that in my bag of goodies, I have a bunch of oldies, babies, nannies and grannies but no boobies, booties or selfies (all patented by Kim Kardashian).

Enjoy, and as soon as I get your old pics I will include them in this album.

Alain La Foudre

PS: To look at these photographs and listen to the accompanying music, turn the sound on, and click on the light blue link “My Photos” located on the right side of this page.