Immigrants

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Voltaire

With the horrendous bloodshed currently taking place in most of the Middle East, hordes of asylum seekers will undoubtedly knock at the doors of the US and many European countries.
It is understandable.

But what also need to be understood by refugees are the new rules of the game.
Many would-be immigrants hail from countries where religion reigns supreme.
Adapting to surroundings where secularity trumps religion might be a very difficult but an absolutely necessary step.
Everybody needs to understand that clerics should always be subservient to state, and not vice-versa.

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Blaise Pascal

When seeking shelter in the West, immigrants must abjure many practices and prejudices of their homeland and embrace the laws and customs of their new home.
A dog is not “unclean”, Jews are not enemies of Allah and Gays are not to be whipped or stoned anymore.

Sticking to anachronistic practices would be like recreating the toxic environment that forced them to flee their country in the first place.
Refugees must learn the language of the land and abide by its customs and its judicial system.

Erroneous beliefs and harmful practices are to be renounced forever.
No more “honor” killings, Female Genital Excisions, son preference over daughter, female infanticide, early marriage and dowry.

Immigrants should strive to dress according to the prevailing dress code and reject niqabs, hijabs and all overtly foreign or religious symbols.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Behave as those around you.

Any immigrant (like me) should always feel grateful and indebted to a country that took him in its bosom, and refrain from hateful speeches and deeds disparaging the country that offered him sanctuary in the first place.

Doing otherwise would be like biting the hand that fed him.

Alain

 

Robin Williams

Monday must have been a very slow news day.
The media went into a frenzy to cover the demise of Robin Williams.

Suddenly he was the greatest comic genius the world had ever seen.
With all due respect to his family, I don’t share this opinion.
Robin Williams could be occasionally funny, but a “comic genius” he was not.
I never liked “shticks” and he used too many of them.
I had a soft spot for him in “serious” roles like in Good Will Hunting.

But it is not easy to be tagged a “funnyman”. You have to constantly prove that you are witty and it is more often a burden than an advantage.
Personally, if I had to pick a funny man, it would choose John Cleese of Monty Python fame or Jerry Seinfeld.

But with the world ablaze with hatred and destruction, I cannot understand why news departments everywhere chose to devote most of the day to report the passing of a comedian.

Excuse my French, but right now I am more concerned with what’s happening in Iraq where a bunch of Islamic fanatics are maiming or killing anybody who don’t share the same twisted beliefs.

I am worried about Ukraine where Putin might ignite Word War Three.
Who thought that the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would start WWI?

I am worried about Israel, the last sane, pro-western bastion in the Middle East cauldron.

I am worried about Turkey where sinister “mildly Islamist” Recep Erdogan was just elected president.

I am worried about Afghanistan, the resurgence of the Taliban and the fate of women in that cursed country.

I am worried about Syria, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, etc. and the rise of extremism everywhere…

I am worried about the spawning of radical zealots in Europe.

So excuse me for not showing extraordinarily concern about the passing of a mere troubled “funny man”.

Alain

 

That May/December affair

The rules of the game stipulated that in this event, one of the partners should be over 65 years old and the other one under that age.
Well, easier said than done!

With only 10% of our club membership under the age of retirement, the pickings were extremely slim and some people struggled (and bitched) to find a partner.
Tamara (one of the young chicks) was naturally in great demand, and for a fleeting moment I considered auctioning her off, but sanity prevailed and I opted to use her services instead.

Eighteen (18) geezers/youngsters “doublettes” registered to play. Some formations looked formidable but Lady Luck is notoriously capricious and unpredictable.
You never know what her passing fancy will be.
As it turned out, the winners were not those most of the people picked to succeed.

The competing teams were as follows:

  1. Alain Efron and Tamara Efron
  2. Mike Cooper and Narin Garret
  3. Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons
  4. Pierre Bremont and Marie-Anne Curley
  5. Bill Miller and Barbara Hall
  6. Peter Mathis and Simone Furlan
  7. Henry Wessel and Calvert Barron
  8. Jean-Claude Etallaz and Colette Van Der Meulen
  9. Ed Porto and Carolina Jones
  10. Mickey Coughlin and Antonia Paulsen
  11. Carlos Couto and Minette Etallaz
  12. Joe La Torre and Susan Holbert
  13. Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn      Falkenberg
  14. Etienne Rijkheer and Dolores Austin
  15. Jean-Michel Poulnot and Claudie Chourré
  16. Steve Jones and Christine Jones
  17. Jean-Claude Bunand and Mireille Di Maio
  18. Luc Pouget and Sabine Mattei

Coffee and croissants were available.
The weather was cool in the morning and a little windy in the afternoon.
Antoine Lofaro was the official umpire.

Three timed 13 points games were played before lunch to separate the top dogs from the mutts.

My teammate and I did fairly well:

We won our first game (13/9) against Joe La Torre and Susan Holbert
We lost our second game (8/13) against Luc Pouget & Sabine Mattei
We won our 3rd game (13/10) against Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons

We therefore qualified for the Concours, which for dilettantes like us is a mixed blessing.
It is flattering to qualify but most of the time it is more like a death warrant, with very little chance of reprieve from the governor.
The good part of it is that it allows me to indulge in one of my other passion: catching people on film in the act of being themselves.

Sol Food, a local restaurant specializing in Puerto Rican cuisine, graciously donated the lunch.

In the afternoon we met Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons in the arena again and lost 7/13.
We were out of the game.
Caution: Patrick and Holly are cool customers never to be taken lightly.

In the Concours semi-finals Patrick and Holly defeated Peter Mathis and Simone Furlan 13/8
J-C Etallaz and Colette beat Mike Cooper and Narin Garrett.

In the finals Patrick and Holly defeated the gritty team of Jean-Claude and Colette 13/10.
I told you that Patrick was a cool dude!

In the Consolante finals, Le Facteur (probably weakened by love) did not complete his round and was sent packing by Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn Falkenberg with a final score of 13/9

Final results:

Concours

IMG_4913

1st place: Patrick Vaslet & Holly Sammons$72.00 each
2nd place: Jean-Claude Etallaz & Colette Van Der Meulen:  $60.00 each
3rd place: Mike Cooper & Narin Garrett:  $37.00 each

Consolante

1st place: Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn Falkenberg:  $37.00 each
2nd place: Jean-Michel Poulnot & Claudie Chourré:  $24.00 each
3rd place: Steve Jones & Christine Jones:  $15.00 each

And that was the way I saw it on August 10, 2014.

Alain (aka La Foudre)

PS: To look at pictures of this event and listen to accompanying background music, turn your computer’s sound on, and click on “My Photos“.