Category: Fourre-tout

As I previously noticed, women are becoming bullish on boules, and I am delighted about this.

When I took up the game about 20 years ago, the sport was dominated by old French curmudgeons who viewed women as second-rate, unworthy opponents. The game was strictly segregated, with men playing on one side, and a few intrepid women amusing themselves on the back of the bus the field.

But I am glad to report that things have changed and that there is now a bevy of beauties playing in our field. I believe that we owe this in great part to Christine Cragg. Thank you, Madame President. I am glad to see this because I always believed that women could do as well as men in many disciplines.

“I did everything he did but backward & in high heels.” ~ Ginger Rogers

In any sport, people usually like to compete with more experienced players, but personally, I don’t mind playing with newcomers. At one time or another, we all have been newbies… and if it was not for some accommodating folks, we would all be stuck in the same old routines.

In Marin, Loel McPhee, Abby Danielson, Beth Pay, Carmel O’Hara and Ann Krilanovich are now regular fixtures, and they are bullish on boules. When they started, they looked awkward and performed rather poorly; but I am happy to report that, in the last few weeks I have seen a definite improvement in all of them. Especially Ann: she is now pointing decently, and she is also starting to shoot. She is enthusiastic about the game and plays to win. Give her another year and she will give you a run for your money.

Ideally speaking, you should start any discipline at a young age, but it is not always possible. Even if you take up a new form of exercise later in life, you can become very successful at it.

Regardless of your age, pétanque is an ideal sport for just about anybody. It is a social discipline that keeps you active, the rules are simple, the equipment is minimal, and it is ridiculously inexpensive. To become good at it, there is only one way to do it: practice, practice, and practice again.

 I am tired of losing to male competitors; it is not fun. Like a true masochist, I want to enjoy the pain of losing against someone from the “weaker sex” … and I am pretty sure that this scenario is not too far off.

 Whilst men may play the game, women know the score. Habeeb Akande

 Alain

I finally got around to watch the Meghan and Harry soap Oprah, and frankly, I was not won over by her (or his) performance. Sure, she is cute and well-spoken, but she was not convincing enough. I particularly struggled to believe her assertions that when she had it all (a prince, a title, servants, security detail, and a child underway) she entertained suicidal thoughts.

To me, her story sounds like a failure to adapt to reality. When you join the Firm, you fundamentally agree to follow its rules and customs, and not the other way around. To my knowledge, there is absolutely no job devoid of any pesky drawbacks, even when you are a newly minted duchess.

Meghan failed to carefully the script and was totally unprepared for her new role. She was not even aware that she had to curtsy before the queen. Even a peon like me knows that…

When she married into the British royal family, she had no idea what to expect and by her own admission, she was unwilling to do some research about it. Today, the Internet is available to answer any questions and if you fail to do so, you have only yourself to blame.

Both Meghan and Harry came out as spoiled whiners. If you want to play by your own rules, you forego all the benefits of your previous employment. Once you leave Google, you are not a Googler anymore and you are no longer entitled to any of its perks. The same goes for royalty. You just cannot have your cake and eat it too.

“Googlers employees are extremely well fed, getting healthy and varied breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if they stay late — for free. There are also coffee and juice bars scattered throughout the campuses.”

 Meghan’s problem is above all a clash of cultures. There is a big gap between make-believe and reality. If you are not born into royalty, it is difficult to learn and abide by its rules. It might also be unpleasant to lose some of your independence and become a second, or even a third banana. But this the price that you have to pay to become a “royal”.

Meghan’s story reminds me of Wally Simpson’s tale. Both women married princes but failed to ingratiate themselves into a higher (and probably snobbish) caste.

Hot-headed Harry, like the Duke of Windsor, was influenced by a strong-willed woman and unable to resist the pull of the woman he loved. He might later regret his bid for independence.

Latent racism might have been a small part of the equation, but it is not the main reason for Megxit. British aristocracy’s snobbery more than racism might have played a bigger part in this melodrama than the racist card.

To sum it up, I don’t feel much sympathy for Meghan and Harry. They made their bed and have to lie in it.

Alain

A few years ago, greeting hugs became fashionable among young Anglo-Saxon men. It was a sharp departure from the traditional brisk handshake previously favored by them.

But, like “nouveaux-riches” eager to show their affluence, they didn’t seem to know that hugging is regulated by some etiquette. A hug is like a medal… or a kiss; it is special and not offered to any Tom, Dick, or Harry. It is bestowed upon unique individuals, and if you are a serial hugger, you cheapen the value of this currency.
You would not smooch with everybody, would you? So do not feel that you have to hug everybody because it seems to be fashionable

And besides, everybody is not sold on greeting hugs. Nothing is more painful to watch than the sight of an unwelcome hug. Huggies will respond to an unwanted hug with a limp body and a weak pat on the back of the hugger. But you can tell that their heart is not in it.

I was never extraordinarily fond of hugs anyway… unless it was done by a relative or by a lady intent on carnal gratification. It always reminds me of my aunt Olga who liked to smooch, but who alas had a bad case of halitosis. Besides, you don’t see the hands of the hugger and in these contentious days, it is a little iffy. He/she could easily stick a dagger in your back while swearing eternal love to you. That’s probably what happened to Julius Caesar.

Between men, I far prefer the old-fashioned, reliable handshake. You make eye contact, and you extend your hand. The action is direct, manly, and unlike the hug, you also have a solid grip on the hand that might strike you.

But this matter has become irrelevant anyway. We are now wrestling with Covid-19 and very few people would be willing to hug you, even if you looked like Paul Newman.
The virus has been with us for close to a year, and as an unwelcome guest, it is abusing its stay.

I suspect that this diabolical infective agent is a serial hugger. It sneaks up on you, and before you even know it, it embraces you a lethal hug. A dastardly way of showing affection.

When the virus will be defeated and sent packing, I wonder if men’s greeting hugs will remain as popular as it once was. Maybe it will vanish like the “baisemain” of yore and nobody will miss it. I am sure that very soon the kids will invent a new way of greeting you… Maybe a reverse hug, derrière against derrière… It would be more fun and much safer than the face-to-face squeeze.

But remember, hugs are special. They are not to be used trivially. Save them for special occasions and dispense them sparingly. Otherwise, like an inflated currency, they will lose their status and value.

Alain