COVID odyssey

I hail from a land where we are prone to kiss and hug. “La bise” in France is as natural and spontaneous as butt-sniffing in the canine world. It is why last Saturday in Sonoma, I freely exchanged kisses and hugs with dozens of friends and acquaintances. The once greatly feared COVID threat seemed to have vanished, and among extroverted people, it was an orgy of kisses and cuddles. Who does not appreciate this genuine sign of esteem and sympathy?

So, in the morning I went about “mon petit bonhomme de chemin” … and tried my best to help my team. But unfortunately, we lost almost every encounter. My squad had the misfortune of losing every coin toss in the tournament, and our opponents deliberately took us to rugged areas to have their way with us.

For pétanque boules, these gravel-strewn areas are the Promise Land. In these no-mans lands, boules suddenly feel free to do whatever they please; and I think that I distinctly heard them say “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last” while gleefully, deliberately, wandering away from their designed targets.

To sum it up, it was a very inauspicious day for our formation. Our team captain Bernard Passemar played extraordinarily well but was unable to turn the tide.

Around 3:30 p.m. that day, I felt a tightening in my throat, but didn’t pay too much attention to it. I attributed it to fatigue and stress.

The next day, I woke up with a severe sore throat, coughing, runny nose, headache, and a general sense of uneasiness and fatigue. I first thought that I had caught a common cold and that it would disappear the next day, but I was wrong. A COVID home test quickly confirmed that the malfeasant bug had breached  my body defenses and was occupying the premises.

I was a little surprised by this outcome because for the last 2 years I had dutifully subjected my body to all the preventive shots available, and I thought that I had acquired some kind of immunity to the bug. But such was not the case. The evil virus is still marauding and will seize any occasion to do harm.

I found out during this time, that my best remedy was an uninterrupted flow of hot drinks and plenty of rest. My wife also proved to be a real Florence Nightingale and greatly helped to stem the tide.
Спасибо большое Томашка!

I am still mending and won’t be around for a while, but don’t bury me yet. We old bastards are tough and not easily disposed of. As Gen. MacArthur once said “I shall return”, and so will I.

In the meantime, hold off on kisses and hugs and settle instead for a safer closed-fist greeting.

Soldiering on…

Private Alain

2023 NorCal Regional Select Triples

Sunday morning, I arrived at the field around 8:30 am hoping to find some relatively easy parking, but I was in for a shock. Due to some flea-market event, our parking lot was chockfull of vehicles, often parked in a very irresponsible manner. I finally managed to find an available parking slot and entered the pétanque field.

Fourteen (14) teams had signed up for the event and most of the players were already actively practicing on the terrain. By this time, it was already warm, and it got much warmer as the day went by. There was plenty of sunshine and everybody was grateful for the shade provided by our great trees. Everybody but me. Shade is wonderful when you are playing, but it makes it very hard for a photographer and greatly affects the quality of his pictures.

Nevertheless, I started shooting early, as my union requires it. Then suddenly, around 11:30 am, my camera’s battery conked out. It greatly surprised me because usually, I can shoot most of the day with a single battery. I then inserted a spare battery in the camera and continued shooting.

Most of the people stopped playing after 2 games and took a break for lunch. But a great number of wasps heard about it and were at the rendez-vous. These pesky little guys have an extraordinary sense of smell and came by the dozens. It became almost impossible to stay seated at the table. Where were the yellow-jacket traps?

After lunch, I witnessed the merciless slaughtering (13/1) of the Pierce/Marcovecchio/McPhee LPM team by Vang/Choulamany/Bissonette, a well-known Fresno gang. The assassins showed no remorse for their deed.

In the afternoon, my second camera battery also gave up, which again surprised me greatly. Intrigued by this unusual series of events, I consulted the Internet and discovered that “Battery life is reduced at higher temperatures – for every 15 degrees F over 77, battery life is cut in half.”  Now you know.

I also watched in its entirety the Concours Semi-finals between the Mathis team and Phomenick’s trio. Phomenick is an awesome shooter and it started very badly for Peter’s team. They were led 0/9 mid-game and it looked like his team was headed for a resounding fanny.

Then at 0/11 Mathis and his guys dug their heels and started a slow comeback. It was like Lazarus raised from the dead. To everybody surprise, Peter, Dave, and Bill managed to win the game by the astounding score of 13/12. Moral of the story: you are not completely dead until the lid is nailed to your coffin.

The Concours’s Finals proved also very interesting but never reached the dramatics of the semifinals. Janice, By Vang, and Choulamany played very well but could not stop Peter’s resurrected and rejuvenated team. Final score: 13/9 for Mathis’s formation.

Concours
1st place: Peter Mathis/Dave Lanter/Bill Miller  $126.00 ea
2nd place: By Vang/J. Bissonette/K. Choulamany $105.00 ea
3rd place: Phomenick Lee/Mike Lee/ Pao Ly  $84.00 ea Continue reading “2023 NorCal Regional Select Triples”

Qui se ressemble, s’assemble ?

Il y a un vieux dicton français qui dit « Qui se ressemble, s’assemble. » mais est-ce bien vrai ?

Il n’y a aucun doute que généralement, les jeunes préfèrent la compagnie de leurs pairs, mais les « vieux » préfèrent-ils s’associer avec leurs semblables ? Et bien, il semble que ce n’est pas toujours le cas. Je me souviens d’un octogénaire qui disait souvent (sans rire) « je n’aime pas jouer avec des vieux. »

Cette personne disait donc, je n’aime pas m’associer avec des personnes âgées. Elles sont ennuyeuses et déprimantes… et surtout, elles sont une réflexion de ce que je suis ou de ce que je serai dans quelques années.
S’associer à des vieux ? « Qui couche avec des chiens se lève avec des puces. »

Dans notre société, il est presque honteux de vieillir, et des sommes pharamineuses sont dépensées régulièrement pour essayer d’enrayer cet affreux processus. L’âge est comme est comme un stock désuet qui perd lentement de sa valeur au fil des années. Il ne faut donc pas vieillir, tout au moins mentalement, et accepter cette évolution stoïquement.

La plupart des gens sont généralement critiques. Toute personne rencontrée au hasard de la vie est jugée… et cette opinion est classée consciemment ou inconsciemment dans un fichier secret. Truc Machin, pas un mauvais gars, mais pas marrant du tout.

Il est vrai cependant que certains « croulants » ne sont pas aussi amusants et dynamiques que les adolescents, mais sont-ils vraiment « ennuyeux comme la pluie ? »

Cela dépend évidemment de chaque individuel, mais les « vieux » sont souvent plus lents et moins porté à la plaisanterie. Tout comme on est conquis par la beauté et le parfum d’une fleur, on est tous attiré par la fraicheur et la joie de vivre des jeunes. Pour beaucoup, s’associer à leurs jeux est souvent comme un bain de jeunesse, une cure de Jouvence.

Cet échange cependant marche dans les deux sens. Pour les personnes âgées, c’est une façon de « rester dans le coup », et pour les jeunes, une occasion de bénéficier de l’expérience des anciens.

Morale de l’histoire : ne vous baricaddez pas dans vos habitudes. Il existe un autre monde au-delà de votre cercle d’amis et de votre famille. Ne manquez jamais de vous associer avec des gens différents. Tout comme dans une alliance commerciale ou militaire, les deux cotés bénéficieront de cette coopération.

Alain Continue reading “Qui se ressemble, s’assemble ?”