Take me to the Boules game

I dislike arrogant men and diva behavior in either gender. Robin Wright 

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IMG_5393 - Version 3You play pétanque because it is fun, but to really enjoy the game you have to play with people who are likable and easy to get along with.

In this discipline, there are two distinctive events: casual games and tournaments.
Casual games are meant to be friendly and relaxed. All the rules and regulations that apply to tournaments need not be rigidly enforced.
Winning is nice but not overly important. What is central to the game is the pleasant interaction between team members and the opposite team.
Joking, laughing is tolerated, even encouraged.

Tournaments are different animals. You often play against strangers, for honorific or monetary rewards. Competition is keener and all the rules have to be observed.
Playing against strangers is like going on a first date. As the game progresses you observe and forge an opinion.

Most competitors are cool but some  can antagonize you right off the bat. They can be cocky, pompous or over litigious.
Another reason of enmity can be caused by a team spending an inordinate amount of time discussing strategy. Seasoned players should almost immediately know what to do. If not, thirty seconds should be enough to evaluate the situation and commit to action.
Lengthy powwows are pointless and highly irritating. So are “highfives” by the way.

Fortunately the majority of players are walking the line.
It is always nice to win, but losing against fair play, skilled competitors is not the least bit traumatic.
It is the Gods’ way  to remind you that there is still plenty of room for improvement in your game.

Although physical, pétanque is a highly emotional exercise.
A good competitor should stay as cool as a cucumber and keep his mouth shut and his powder dry.
Keeping his temper in check is the mark of a wise player.

All sports are unpredictable. To win, you need skill, discipline, daring and a few generous heapings of luck.

Alain

Allergic to hot air

“A bore is a person who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it.” Henry Ford

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As an informal observer of human nature I like to give credit when it is due. I like to recognize and praise those who achieve instead of those who talk.

The world is essentially divided between talkers and doers, or if you prefer, blowhards and “blowsofts”.
Unfortunately blowhards are more strident than blowsofts and they often get more recognition; in a pinch though, I’d prefer to be stranded with a single blowsoft rather than a dozen braggarts.

Extremists scare me
Extremists scare me

Blowhards thrive especially in the proximity of cameras and microphones.
They speak loud and point their finger.
In our actual political context, if I say “blowhard”, I don’t have to mention any name. Everybody knows who he is. This egotistical cretin has dropped enough depth charges to sink the sturdiest dreadnought (or kill an elephant).

In showbiz, politics, sports, blowhards are a dime a dozen. They talk before they think. Before uttering non-sense they ought to remember the old saying:

Put your mind into gear before putting your mouth into motion.

Personally, I like quiet, modest people. People who shy away from the limelight. People who lead by doing instead of babbling.

Generally speaking, I would tend to agree with Teddy Roosevelt’s philosophy: Speak softly and carry a big stick”, but I also like a counterpuncher like Elizabeth Warren.
This woman is not afraid to tangle with the bad boys and she gives as good (much better) as she gets. Something that bullies are not used to and makes them incapable of responding coherently.
Booyah!

Hot air (sometimes called bunk) is notoriously bad for the environment. It contributes to global warming and increased pollution. Hot air melts glaciers, contributes to the rise of the sea and leads to extreme conditions.

In my book, extreme is a dirty word. Environmentally and politically speaking.
The only way to get rid of it is to remove the source of pollution.
Act fast before it is too late.

Alain

Youth has no age

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing.” Maurice Chevalier

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The word “equality” has been bandied about for a very long time, but this very notion of equality is total non-sense. A doobie inspired utopian dream perpetuated by demagogues and unrepentant leftists.
Equality has a nice ring, but it is totally unrealizable.

Inequality starts the minute the baby is ejected from its mother’s womb, at the very beginning of a long-distance race called “life”.

Some children are born with natural physical attributes that will give them a head start. A baby might have more hair, weigh more, be cuter, have beautiful eyes, etc. and this initial disparity with his peers will increase with age and give him/her an unfair advantage.

Statistics bear the fact that attractive people are treated differently than average looking or shorter individuals. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There has never been and there will never be “equality”… except maybe later in life when the age factor enters the equation. For age is the ultimate equalizer.

Rich, poor, handsome, ugly, short, tall… we will all age the same way (equally), at the same speed.

father TimeOld age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard, there’s nothing you can do. Golda Meir

In this field, a rich person will not age slower than the average Joe and vice-versa. No matter how much money you have, Father Time cannot be bribed.

Most everybody agrees that getting old sucks (there ought to be legislation against it), but it does not mean that you should give up on life after a fortune teller offers to read your face.

To paraphrase Judith Viorst,

“Getting old is much nicer to be in than an automobile accident, a tight girdle, a higher tax bracket or a holding pattern over Philadelphia.”

There is still plenty that you can enjoy when you become a certified “old-timer” for age is often a state of mind.
The secret of happiness is to laugh a lot, drink a little and to always have something to look forward to.

So instead of watching reruns of “I love Lucy” pull out your social calendar, and plan some celebration. Not a meaningful event in a distant future, but something of little importance that will happen before long.

Here’s to staying positive and testing negative!

Alain