Au Cochonnet Marin

Sunday July 23^rd 2017 will remain a glorious day in the annals of local pétanque. On that day, the 6 major pétanque clubs of Northern California met in San Rafael to compete for their annual inter-club tournament.

Petaluma, Fresno, Sacramento, Sonoma, Lamorinda and San Rafael sent players to defend their respective colors and vie for the coveted cup. Ultimately, the total number of competitors came to 68.

This pétanque tournament, let’s not forget, was organized by the Petaluma Valley Pétanque Club and under the aegis of Ed Porto and Rob Everett they did an excellent job. They even managed to get the show on the road no later than 9:30 am.

Three 50 minutes games were played in the morning to determine everybody’s individual ranking and who would play in the Concours and who play in the Consolante. According to each individual score, eight triplettes teams were then selected to play in the Concours and 8 teams in the Consolante.

A slight digression here if I may…
One the problem afflicting this reporter was to identify all players and even though I am familiar with many of them I could not recognize them all. So please excuse me in advance for misspelling your (sometimes unfamiliar) names.

The second major problem for my alter ego was the weather. It was sunny and bright but there was a catch. In San Rafael we enjoy a fabulous shaded playing area but it is a blessing and a problem at the same time. It is very difficult for a photographer using a zoom lens to take decent pictures in “clair-obscur” conditions. So I apologize in advance for the quality of certain shots.

In the tournament’s Concours finals, Sacramento faced Petaluma. Two good teams. A balanced game. Each side could have won, ultimately though thanks in good part to Brendan Cohen, Sacramento won by a final score of 13/9. The losing team has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

In the Consolante, despite our warriors’ best efforts, the Fresno juggernaut demolished La Pétanque Marinière 13/2.

A great day for pétanque lovers!

Concours:
1^st place: Brendan Cohen, Mone Lee, Kue Lee (Sacramento)
2^nd place: Bleys Rose, Albert Woodbury, Dennis Zerbo (Petaluma)

Consolante:
1^st place: Jer Thao, Bruce Yang, Janice Bissonnette (Fresno)
2^nd place: Henry Wessel, Mark Shirkey, Charlie Davantes. (Marin)

Alain

PS: Our good friend Gustave Foucher who just celebrated his 90^th birthday was recently hospitalized. He will be released soon. Please wish him well. He will appreciate it.

To look at photos of this event, click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen. Feel free to send me comments.

 

Anger is a raw emotion that drives humans and animals alike to be hostile and aggressive. In Greek mythology, Lyssa was the goddess who personified that emotion and she was volatile and destructive.

Some people, under Lyssa’s influence, let fly an indignant tweet when they are angry. It is a bad idea for Lyssa is a notoriously bad advisor. She will compel you to make hasty pronouncements and bad decisions.
Anger like revenge, is an intricate dish that should simmer for some time and be consumed cold to be really gratifying.

A juvenile will tweet his anger, a grownup will hesitate, a president should not. The leader of a large organization should turn his tongue 7 times in his mouth before uttering anything. Saying something stupid is the role of the vice-president who can be conveniently disavowed when putting his boot in his mouth.

A leader shouldn’t talk before carefully reflecting on what he is about to say. Once set free, a tweet is like a wild bird that will breed, multiply and could become a destructive flock.

It does not mean that he should not get angry, but he should never tweet his indignation. A smart man should learn to slowly digest his anger and use it later in some smart, constructive way. It has been said, “anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.” I believe that. A fast tongue is like a double-edged sword. It can cut both ways.

Insecurity and impotence are often the driving forces behind anger. Showing rage is like revealing your hand in a poker game. It is a sure way to lose.
Leaders should speak sparingly and carry a big Taser. When accusing and showing anger too many times, they become laughable comic characters that cannot be taken seriously.

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain

Alain

Yes it was hot indeed in Sonoma last Saturday; 100 degrees Fahrenheit according to the weather bureau. It was so hot that ‘the best parking places were determined by shade instead of distance.” 

Despite this inauspicious condition, between 80 and 100 people attended this traditional Bastille Day picnic/tournament sponsored by The Valley of Moon Pétanque Club.
Granted, everybody did not play but many did in spite of the tropical heat. The VOMPC wisely set up 4 large tents throughout the field to provide some cooling spaces for players and guests alike.
Due to a persistent back problem, I declined to play.

The “mèlée » tournament was organized by Peter Mathis, assisted by Shannon Bowman. Two 11 points games were played in the morning and two in the afternoon. Despite these supposedly short games, some contests lingered and lunch (prepared by chef Marco) was only served around 1:00 pm.
To avoid long waiting lines, tables had been numbered and were called 3 at a time at separate intervals. An excellent idea that worked out very well.

All the attendants were too numerous to be mentioned but I spotted Brendan Cohen, Antonia Paulsen, Patrick Vaslet, Mike Cooper, John Morrison and his wife Linda, Bernard Passemar and his son Robert, Jean-Claude Etallaz and Minette, Gustave Foucher, Bleys Rose, Teri Sirico, Holly Sammons, and a bunch of people whose names I don’t know or escaped me.
Talking about Gustave Foucher, this sturdy gentleman is 90 years old and still going strong. Wish him well.

Jean-Michel Poulnot a.k.a Le Facteur donned his tricolor outfit and (entre la poire et le fromage) sang La Marseillaise with his usual enthusiasm. His fiery call to arms was fortunately ignored.

I don’t know what happened after lunch. Around 2:30 pm, to escape the heat, my wife and I boarded our sweltering batmobile and headed back to the relative coolness of Marin.

If you are curious, you can probably find the results of this tournament on Facebook. Congratulations to the “hot” winners whoever they are.

In the meantime, enjoy my pictures.

Au revoir et a bientôt!

Alain

PS: The winners of the tournament

To look at photos of this event, click on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.