Category: Fourre-tout

Last Sunday I attended my first post-pandemic tournament of the season, the Select Triples in Sonoma. Not as a competitor mind you, but as an interested blogger. Armed with an array of recording devices I showed up on the pétanque field around 10:00 am and stayed there until past 7:00 pm.

Sixty-three players (21 triplettes) had signed up to play and were already battling on the field. The weather was exceptionally cooperative, and the thermometer never rose above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Ideal weather for a tournament; we even got a little breeze as a bonus.

Again, it felt strange seeing everybody without a mask, and greetings were sometimes awkward. To hug, to kiss, to make fist contact? that was the uncomfortable question, but we managed…

The Big Boys were already in the process of wiping out the weaker teams, and around lunchtime, 16 teams qualified to play in the Concours and 5 teams were to fight it out in the Consolante.

I happened to follow the fate of some friends (Francois, Jean-Claude, and Gerard) who had stumbled in the Concours and faced the powerful team of John Harris/Tom Lee/Chan Xiong in the afternoon. The execution took place in the pebble-strewn area, in the farthest corner of the field. Within minutes, the score was 12/2 in favor of Harris’s team. I left before watching the mercy killing.

I also followed Jean-Michel and his merry men; despite being a relatively strong team they had a disastrous morning. They lost 3 games in a row and were unceremoniously shown the door to the Consolante. But every cloud has a silver lining… Jean-Michel, Damien, and Bernard eventually ended up winning that part of the tournament.

The Concours finals pitted two of the strongest teams in the field against each other. Peter Mathis, Mickey Coughlin, against Patrick Vaslet took on John Harris, Tom Lee, Chan Xiong. Both teams won all 3 games in the morning and continued destroying every competitor in the afternoon.

Finally, they faced each other. It was a clash of giants. Harris’ team had 3 excellent shooters while Mathis’s formation fielded only 2. But they had an ace up their sleeves, and his name was Patrick Vaslet.

Patrick who played as a pointer did a fabulous job. On a pebble-strewn, difficult terrain, he managed to position just about every boule not farther than 3 inches away from the cochonnet. I sincerely believe that it was his fantastic pointing ability that secured the game in favor of his team. I am not saying that Peter and Mickey did not help; they did as usual an outstanding job, but a great part of the victory was undeniably due to Patrick’s uncanny ability. The crowd in attendance cheered him numerous times.

Despite Fresno’s solid defense, the game ended up with the surprising final score of 13/2 in favor of Sonoma. Despite the great point margin, both teams played extremely well and it was a great tournament.

Final results:

Concours (16 teams)

1^st place:        Peter Mathis/Patrick Vaslet/Mickey Coughlin
2^nd place:       John Harris/Tom Lee/Chan Xiong
3^rd place:        Scott Jordan/Dave Lanter/Dan Marioni

Consolante (5 teams)

1^st place:        Damien Monnet/Bernard Passmar/Jean-Michel Poulnot
2^nd place:       Don McPherson/Linda McPherson/Bob Stephens

Alain

PS: Click on My photos, and you will find your way to hundreds of pictures. Let me know how you like them.

Now that most of the pandemic constraints have been lifted, people everywhere are bathing in the rekindled pleasure (le plaisir retrouvé) of “farniente” … the exquisite pleasure of doing nothing. Sidewalk cafés are full and doing a smashing business again. It seems that people are trying to make up for lost time, just like after a long war…

This “farniente” business has long been a revered Latin tradition. It was adopted only recently by Americans who were long deluded to believe that “time is money”. The French, on the other hand, adopted a different maxim: “Je ne fais rien, mais je le fais bien” (I do nothing, but I do that well.)

But enlightened Americans (Californians?) have seen the errors of their ways and now spend a great deal of time atoning for their past sins. They pack sidewalk cafés and restaurants like there were no tomorrows. Time has been devalued.

Let’s not forget that “farniente” is an art and… a sport. Like any discipline, it requires long hours of practice, and the mind has to be in tune with the body. You “cannot do nothing” and keep ruminating about business or some other silly nonsense. You have to be Zen.

One of the few things allowed when doing nothing is people-watching. As a matter of fact, when you have reached the first level of farniente, you will have to pass a little test to see if you are proficient enough to practice. I don’t like to brag, but I have a 3^rd dan in people-watching, so if you need any help, talk to me.

When you do people-watching, you do not stare or whistle, no matter how appealing the subject is. You just glance casually, but with some training, you can absorb in seconds the essence of a person.

People-watching by the way also includes pet-watching. I love dogs and yes, and I never miss an occasion to observe, even pet them. I can be guilty of staring and even engage in some badinage with the owner of the beast. Animals know when you like them and will let you have your way with them. Women are not very different. Did I just feel a light tremor?

The great thing about farniente is that it is eminently affordable. You don’t need any special equipment or uniform and when the mood strikes, you can practice anywhere. In a car, in a plane, at home, or in the office.

It is true that some people have become addicted to this pastime, and that it is fairly difficult to cure them of this dependency, but it can be done. Many former elected officials are now employed in private industry, and after a few detox sessions, they are now more productive than in their best years in government.

When the mood strikes, never hesitate: farniente, go for it!

Alain

After looking for a particular item on the internet, and being ultimately unable to decide, I came to the unhappy conclusion that we are spoiled for choice. In our society, we have too many items of the same type to choose from and this inhibits us.
It is like going to a 3 stars restaurant and being incapable of choosing a dish for fear of missing something.

Nowadays, when we need to make a purchase, we generally rely on the internet for guidance. That’s where the purchasing savants reside, and their advice is highly sought… These experts really know where the good stuff is, and they will wisely advise us on what to purchase. Unfortunately, these “pros” seldom agree and come to a unanimous decision. They all recommend a different product that nobody else agrees with… I would even settle for a partially approved decision, but I cannot even get that from those people.

Then we seek the opinions of previous buyers hoping for more impartiality, but these people, just like the experts, are seldom unanimous. Some bless and some condemn, but like the French, they never seem to agree with one another.

This almost makes me regret the time when we had a much narrower choice. As Henry Ford used to say about the Model T, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black.”

The redeeming quality of the Internet though, is that it is fast and that merchants seldom haggle about a return. If you don’t like our product, send it back and we will reimburse you. Sometimes you don’t even have to send the product back. But the problem, as previously stated, is that in our society we often have an embarrassment of riches; more options or resources than one knows what to do with.

Recently, I was asked by my wife to buy some milk for a visiting guest. No problemo I thought. When I was young, my mother often sent me to get a quart of milk from the local “laitier.” I would bring our old aluminum pot, ask for a quart of milk and that was it. There were no embarrassing choices… milk was milk, period.

But when I went to the supermarket to get the white stuff, I was unexpectedly faced with too many different choices. Whole milk, low-fat milk, skimmed milk, semi-skimmed milk, organic milk, flavored milk, lactose-free milk, raw milk, goat milk…
Give me a break! I just want some plain moo juice for crying out loud! I finally grabbed some organic milk and ran like a thief in the night. Fortunately, I got it right.

In poor countries, they are not that particular. When it comes to milk, they just solicit the family goat, and everybody is happy. Having the privilege to choose is good, but not to the point of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of alternatives.

“My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it.” –Buddy Hackett

Alain