Category: Fourre-tout

When I was a teenager, I was fearless… more likely unaware of life’s pitfalls. I saw no evil anywhere and I fearlessly rode my bike in Paris bareheaded and wearing short pants. And like all my contemporaries, I survived unharmed.
But that was then, and this is now.

Today America feels more like a war zone than a nation at peace. Bullets are flying everywhere, and everybody will soon be wearing helmets and bulletproof vests… just in case.  For fashionistas, Kevlar is going to be the garment of choice… for you never know when you are going to run into an aggrieved gun-toting advocate. And there seem to be plenty of them out there with itchy trigger fingers…

The times they are a-changing… That’s for sure, but the honey-tongued NRA is putting up a brave front on all of this. We don’t need to change anything, or very little they say… everything is fine… don’t worry, everything is under control.

This reminds me of an old popular French song that went:

 Tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise,
Tout va très bien, tout va très bien.
Pourtant, il faut, il faut que l’on vous dise,
On déplore un tout petit rien :
Un incident, une bêtise,
La mort de votre jument grise,
Mais, à part ça, Madame la Marquise
Tout va très bien, tout va très bien.

 I took the liberty to substitute one line of this song to illustrate my line of thought.

Everything is fine, Madame la Marquise,
Everything is fine, everything is fine.
However, we must, we must tell you,
We regret a very small thing:
An incident, a mistake,
The death of your gray mare,
The shooting of 19 children in Texas
But, apart from that, Madame la Marquise
Everything is fine, everything is fine.

Unfortunately, despite these reassuring words, things are not going well on our planet.

Batten down the hatches my friends, the worse is yet to come.

Alain

For the sake of old times…

What makes an event successful? The setting, the service, the sound system, and the guests.

Well, everything was there yesterday at the memorial service honoring Roger Mattei and his family. It took place under bright sunshine at the home of Tom and Monique (Bricca) on the outskirts of San Rafael.

The food was catered, and Jean-Paul Barthe and his wife Elisabeth provided the sound system and video. Thanks to Jean-Paul’s savoir-faire, numerous photos recounting Roger and Sabine’s lives were shown on a large TV screen for everybody to see.

Roger was a legendary figure among the Bay Area French community. For 20 years, he and his mother Ginette owned Le Montmartre, a bar located on Broadway (and for 12 more years on Lombard) in San Francisco, and it was always well attended. After a while, it became known as the unofficial French Consulate of the city, and you went there to see, be seen, or do business.

It was a mandatory spot to drop by for any French visitor, and when Charles Aznavour gave a concert in San Francisco, he of course came to this place for some drinks and merrymaking.

The fame of this establishment traveled far and wide. Every four years, a French Navy training ship called La Jeanne d’Arc dropped anchor in San Francisco and everybody aboard knew about this place. Useless to say when this happened, Le Montmartre was literally mobbed.

Roger, who by the way was a devilishly handsome gentleman, was a man’s man. He loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. Every occasion was good for him to go on some expedition on the sea or some mountain. He loved to drive and also rode a motorcycle.

Numerous guests and family members were present yesterday, and a few volunteered to say a few words and anecdotes about Roger. His sons and grandsons also paid tribute to their patriarch, and some shed some tears recounting some memories.

Many members of our pétanque club came to pay tribute to Roger and his wife Sabine. Among them, Christine Cragg, Jean-Claude and Minette Etallaz, Antoine and Eva Lofaro, François and Danielle Moser, Serge Hanne, Noël and Rosalie Marcovecchio, Claudie Chourré, Alain and Evelyne Marchand and of course the three musketeers Mireille Di Maio, Monique Bricca and Sabine Mattei.

The memorial was very successful, and I am pretty sure that Roger, riding shotgun on some heavenly cloud, was smiling approvingly.

Alain

Last Sunday La Pétanque Marinière hosted its regular monthly tournament that attracted 30 “doublettes” teams from all over the Bay Area.

Christine Cragg (our venerated club president) recently back from her sabbatical in France (and assisted by Shama Gutheti) oversaw the event. To make sure that she didn’t waste her time abroad, I briefly tested Christine’s newly acquired knowledge and she passed effortlessly. Good for you Christine!

The playing conditions were good, although it was a little cloudy and slightly muggy.

When I arrived on the field, I discovered that it was already claimed by a young duck who didn’t seem to be in hurry to vacate the place. It finally flew away after cursing us in (I guess) Javanese.

As usual, 3 games were played before lunch, and elimination games followed in the afternoon. My partner (François Moser) and I did fairly well in the morning, winning 2 games out of 3. This qualified us for the Concours where after lunch we faced Carmen Ellis and Suzie (Bad News) Lee. I played against Suzie in last month’s tournament, and she murdered us 13/1. I can certify that under an unassuming look, this person is dangerous: excellent pointer and outstanding shooter. You have been warned…

After a tough game, Carmen and Suzie booted us out of the tournament with a final score of 13/9. I always hate to lose, but this worked well with my preconceived action plan. My aching back was begging me to stop, and I welcomed the opportunity to quit and concentrate on documenting this event.

I tried to photograph as many people as I could, but in photography, it is the lighting conditions that dictate who and where you can operate. The ideal conditions are light without any shade which is almost impossible to find in an urban area. This is why I prefer to shoot in a well-lit area.

If you don’t see pictures of yourself, blame the weather conditions.

Concours

1^st place:        Xiong Chang & Phomenick Lee     $108.00 ea
2^nd place:       Michelle Dang & Barbara Hall       $90.00 ea
3^rd place:       Antoine Lofaro & Eric Thiebault and Dave Lanter & Brendan Cohen

Consolante

1^st place: Lynn Bell & Richard Bell:                        $54.00 ea
2^nd place: Serge Hanne & Philippe Guerit           $36.00 ea

Alain

PS: Go « full screen” to watch the accompanying pictures.