Ingratitude


He, who does not thank for little will not thank for much.
Estonian Proverb

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 A few days ago, a friend of mine who had been mentoring a younger person for about 2 years, was snubbed by his mentee. He was not asked to attend a significant celebration hosted by his protégé.

Ignoring past favors is not nice. As a matter of fact, it is downright insensitive and discourteous.
A cashed favor is akin to a friendly loan. There is no deadline, but the favor should never be forgotten. Ignoring this basic principle  makes you a welsher, a person never to be trusted again.

Trust is essential in a civilized society. You need to trust your bank, your cops, your judges, and above all your friends. By failing to acknowledge past favors, you will alienate people close to you and ruin many relationships.

When doing a good deed you should not expect a reward, but it does not mean that the Good Samaritan should be discarded like a Kleenex after use.

When I was younger, I remember reading a fable by Aesop called Androcles and the Lion. In short, Androcles, a runaway slave, helps a lion in distress. The lion doesn’t forget and later on spares his benefactor’s life.
It is a naïve little story but it conveys the right message. A favor freely granted (no matter how small or old) can yield surprising results.

Since I am a strong believer of Karma, I am convinced that “what goes around comes around.”

So, watch out you ungrateful SOB’s out there, Karma is watching.

“She is just sharpening her nails and finishing her drink. She says that she will be with you shortly.”

She will appear when you least expect it, and she won’t be smiling.

Alain

Mad as a March hare

 

While trawling the web I unexpectedly came across the biography of Joseph Stalin. His career was summarized as follows:

Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of Soviet Communist Party 1922–1952 and Dictator. Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder, manic-depressive.

I was not the least surprised to notice that the old comrade had numerous personality disorders.
My curiosity aroused, I followed this trail trying to find out how many world leaders actually suffered from mental problems.

Mad King George III

According to the “History.com” website there were plenty of these loonies over Europe and in many parts of the world.

The most notorious were:

King Charles VI of France (1368–1422; ruled 1380–1422), known as Charles le Fou (Charles the Mad)

King Henry VI of England (1421–1471; ruled 1422–1461 and 1470–1471
Suffered numerous breakdowns and bouts of madness.

Queen Joanna of Castile (1479–1555; ruled 1504–1555), known as Juana La Loca (Joanna the Mad)

King Eric XIV of Sweden (1533–1577; ruled 1560–1568), he suffered from alcoholism, explosive rage attacks, serious mental instability and paranoia. Ordered mass executions and murdered his own son.

Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552–1612; ruled 1576–1611).

Tsar Ivan V of Russia (1666–1696; ruled 1682–1696) 11th child of Tsar Alexei, joint ruler with Peter the Great, he had serious mental and physical disabilities.

King Afonso VI of Portugal (1643-1683; ruled 1656-1668), he had serious mental and physical disabilities.

King Charles II of Spain (1661-1700; ruled 1665-1700), known as el Hechizado (the Bewitched)

Queen Maria I of Portugal (1734–1816; ruled 1777–1816), known as Maria a Louca (Maria the Mad)

King Christian VII of Denmark (1749–1808; ruled 1767–1808
Christian’s reign was marked by mental illness which affected government decisions, and for most of his reign Christian was only nominally king.

King George III of the United Kingdom, suffered from Porphyria which gave him explosive rage attacks, panic attacks, delusions and visual and auditory hallucinations. (1738–1820; ruled 1760–1820)

It is to be noted that most of these people were forcibly removed from office after numerous excesses.

So as you can see, there is nothing new about a narcissistic, paranoid individual hopelessly trying to run a country.

Covfefe you all!

Alain

 

2017 Spring League

 

Last night, the 2017 Spring League of La Pétanque Marinière ended brilliantly with the encounter of two evenly match teams. The Boules Brothers and the M & M faced each other in an exciting match truly worthy of the Finals.

This was the last phase of a series of games in which 19 doublettes teams (38 people) took part over a few weeks.
Let’s not forget by the way, that most of the proceeds of this event will end up in the club’s coffers for the betterment of our association.

Last night 10 teams were selected to play in the Concours and 8 teams in the Consolante. This was the Sudden Death phase of the series. Upon losing a game you were out of the tournament.

My team (Claudie Chourré and I) made it to the Concours, won a single game and were swiftly routed by the Boules Brothers (who ultimately won the tournament).

In the finals, the Boules Brothers (Ken Lee & Carlos Couto) faced the M& M (Mireille and Marc Di Maio).

As I previously said, it was an evenly match with both teams taking alternatively the lead. Everybody without exception played brilliantly. Mireille pointed exquisitely, often drawing applauds from the crowd. Ken also pointed very well and was instrumental in his team victory.

Both shooters also excelled and Marc Di Maio particularly impressed me. He managed some long, difficult shots with a surgeon’s precision. He also funnily encouraged his mother with this seldom-heard call in a sports arena “Allez Maman” (Go Mother) and it seemed to work.
I won’t say anything about Carlos. He completely destroyed us on our first game and this is not something that you easily forget.

Around 8:30 pm, with the field becoming darker and darker, Brigitte Moran had the good idea to bring in a truck and use its headlights to illuminate the field.

The game finally ended in total darkness (around 9:00 pm) with the victory of the Boules Brothers (Ken Lee & Carlos Couto) with the razor thin margin of 13/11.
Both sides truly deserved to win.

On the Consolante side Tamara and (in the absence of J-C Bunand) William LaVelle managed to beat back the opposition and won 1st place.

My only complaint: smoking should not be allowed on the field. It is not in FPUSA sponsored tournaments and should not be in local events.

Smoking is a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless. King James I of England.

“Smoking helps you lose weight, one lung at a time!”Alfred E. Neuman

 Alain

PS: 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.