Au Cochonnet Marin

“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.”

How much do you know about your neighbor, your pétanque partner or poker sidekick? Probably very little. It is only after his passing that you discover in his obituary how interesting this fellow was. And you regret not having been better acquainted with him.

I don’t know if it is bashfulness or indifference, but most of us alas, know very little about the people we see on a regular basis. We (sometimes) know that they are married and that they have a pet. But this is just about it.
The irony is that a lot of these personal details are public knowledge. Just punch a name in your computer and you will come across a trove of information.

But sometimes for one reason or the other, we don’t click. We often judge a person by his personality and everybody’s assessment is different. This fellow might be a good player but you don’t feel any kinship. You would want to have him with you in a foxhole, but not as a confidante.

Human chemistry works in mysterious ways. You have to feel a certain empathy to get closer to a person. Occasionally you get to know a person better and sometimes you even become friends. When this happens, you are ready to overlook his/her flaws.

“Friendship is when people know all about you but like you anyway.”

But being friends with somebody does not mean necessarily that you know that person well.
After a certain time, and 3 or 4 children, your friend might decide to have a sex change. Did you have any inkling about that? Probably not or maybe either of you didn’t want to talk about it. Are you going to remain friends after this?
Chi lo sa?

The main thing is to be more observant and maybe less guarded because “A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.”

Starting a friendship is like dating. It might not work on the first date but it might get better on the second. The main thing is to be patient and tolerant.

If you want to be my friend, don’t be bashful.
Send me 3 copies of a detailed application and after thorough vetting and a discreet call to ICE, I’ll get back to you.

It is not that hard, is it?

Hugs and kisses!

Alain ?

Out, damned tooth! Out, I say!

Yes, the cracked tooth finally came out… in two pieces, quickly and painlessly. The young surgeon who operated on me did an excellent job. It took him less than 20 minutes to extract the cursed tooth and I barely felt anything. Bless his young soul… and dexterity.

I left the periodontist’s office with a crooked smile on my face. I didn’t know if the left side of my mouth still existed, but I didn’t care. The tooth was out and I was (surprisingly) pain free.
We are far from the barbaric teeth pulling methods popularized by countless paintings or illustrations.

But then, two hours later, after the local anesthesia wore off, came the pain; a sharp excruciating, throbbing pain. It was so intense that it brought tears to my eyes. I did not know if I should lie down or walk around, so I did both with no appreciable results.

I gobbled up 2 Ibuprofen tablets in a quick succession, but the pain remained. As recommended, I applied a cold pad to the throbbing area but with no immediate visible effects.

In retrospect, I was right to apprehend this procedure.
“Minor surgery is an operation performed on somebody else.”

Little by little though the pain abated. I don’t know if the ice pad trick did it, but the horrible pain slowly faded away. Will it come back? I don’t know, but right now I am enjoying this relatively pain free moment.

A modern tooth pulling procedure is somewhat pain free, but the aftermath is a tad different. With surgery (even minor) there is always a price to pay… otherwise people would be constantly under the knife.
The best policy is to avoid (as long as you can) surgery… the aftermath is always worse than claimed.

Now would be the ideal moment to light a joint… Medical emergency you know… But I don’t have any of the “Mellow Yellow” stuff handy. Where is my purveyor of illicit pleasures when I need him? Just like a cop… never there when you desperatly need him.

The pain is finally receding… I might live…

Alain

I find that most men would rather have their bellies open for five hundred dollars than have a tooth pool for five. Martin H. Fisher

Our pétanque field, formerly known as the “Marin pétanque field”, was just officially re-christened the “Pierre Joske Pétanque Park.

This happened yesterday in front of a sizable crowd, some county officials and the surviving members of the Pierre Joske family.

Pierre who passed away in 2011 was the Parks and Recreation Director for Marin County for many years and did much to promote parks and open spaces. His wife Maryse, and 3 children and grandchildren survive him.

It was a late but well deserved homage for a French immigrant who did so much to develop many parks and promote our sport. I did not know this Pierre personally, but by all accounts he was true gentleman.

“Pierre Joske, a brilliant civic leader who spearheaded formation of the Marin County Open Space District and launched a string of regional parks during his 17 years as Marin’s parks and recreation chief, died at 83.”

The Board of Directors of la Pétanque Marinière deserves high praise for this affair. They provided tables and chairs for the picnic as well as a tasty catered lunch.

They also organized a raffle to benefit our club and a Shooting and Pointing contest for some our macho players.
Mark Shirkey by the way is the winner of the pointing contest, and Joe la Torre took first place for the shooting.
Congratulations lads!

Incidentally, I think that being on the mark is swell, but as a photographer I am partial to style, and some of our members have got it.

I will let you be the judges, but personally I think that Liza Moran, Brigitte Moran, Louis Toulon and Mark Shirkey (Travolta style) are among our most photogenic players. I don’t know about winning, but they have got style, and for me this supersedes a few measly wins.

Everybody will agree that it was a fun and busy day, particularly for me who shot over 600 pictures with 3 different cameras. Results vary but I think that I scored a few good shots.

If you like (some of) the pictures, drop me a line. I could live for two months on a good compliment.

Au revoir et a bientôt!

Alain