Au Cochonnet Marin

It was around 90° F yesterday in Santa Rosa, but the blazing heat didn’t prevent some pétanque aficionados to gather up and indulge in their favorite pastime.

Jean-Michel Poulnot and Ellen Leznik had invited a few friends for a potluck lunch spiced up by “une partie de boules”, and few people declined the invitation.

We were summoned to show up at 10:00 am for our first game and we did. Jean-Michel is fortunate to possess a large vegetable garden where he managed to set up a very nice little pétanque court, very propitious to a few games.

He is also a very organized individual, and, in a few minutes, he divided us into 4 separate teams. Two games took place before lunch and two games after lunch. The morning games were not too demanding, but in the afternoon, due to the increased heat, the task proved a tad more challenging. Unlike our blessed field in San Rafael, his little court provides no shade, and in the afternoon, only “mad dogs and Englishmen (dare to) go out in the midday sun.”

To make it even more challenging, the small court, due to the nature of its topsoil, is eminently tricky, and a boule will seldom go where it is told to go.

Nevertheless, everything went according to plan, and we stopped at noon for lunch. Everybody had been very generous and brought plenty of food. When it is hot though, I am never inclined to eat (particularly hot food) so I bid my time and waited for dessert, particularly for a cool fruit salad and ice cream. The least I could say is that it was a very decadent and wicked lunch, bearing striking similarities to a Roman Bacchanalia.

Jean-Michel supplied lots of beverages and regaled us with a mandatory, late version of La Marseillaise. His singing was so inspiring that everybody felt ready (as the lyrics demand) to take arms and defend the homeland. This yearly ritual is also very useful for expats, to practice a hymn that we were taught at a very early age and that we might otherwise (God forbid) forget.

The contest resumed in the afternoon with the following results:

1^st place: Tamara Efron and Francois Piccin
2^nd place: Bernard Passemar, Antoine Lofaro, and Jack?
3^rd place: J-Michel Poulnot, Christine Piccin and Pia Coyle
4th place: Alain Efron and John Coyle

Thank you, Jean-Michel and Ellen, for a great day filled with fun and camaraderie.

Alain

PS: Please enjoy these few pictures

 

So, believe the faithful…

“The Second Coming, also called Second Advent or Parousia in Christianity, is the future return of Christ in glory when it is understood that he will set up his kingdom, judge his enemies, and reward the faithful, living and dead.”

 Some people believe that this blessed event will happen toward the end of 2024. Enemies then, will be judged (and probably sent to gulags) while believers will be rewarded with Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh… and cushy government jobs.

Heretics say that the Second Coming (if it ever materializes) will be nothing but harsh vindictiveness from somebody who already tried and failed to be an inspired leader.

But if the Second Coming does indeed occur, what will happen to human rights? We don’t need democracy are trumpeting some dark angels. We just need strong leadership where dissent and lawlessness will not be tolerated. Strong men are beloved everywhere for their guidance and devotion to their people… “law and order” is their sacred mantra and under their wise guidance, everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Look at great democracies like Russia and China… Do you ever hear any peep coming from these model countries? Of course not.

But the Second Coming might not be everybody’s cup of tea. Some dissenters simply believe that we don’t need it. The First Coming was enough. When Napoleon left Elba and tried a comeback, it didn’t end well. His troops were defeated at Waterloo and the “Ogre” was exiled to exotic St Helena. He was never heard from again until his early demise in 1821 at the tender age of 52.

It is always wise for would-be strongmen to remember that in ancient Rome the Tarpeian Rock was not far from the Capitoline Hill”.

So, the Second Coming might inspire the faithful, but scare the hell out of non-believers. Everybody likes a winner, but no one likes a sore loser. It is not sporting! A well-mannered individual accepts defeat graciously, shakes hands with the winner, and vacates his official residence without hauling away half of the furniture with him.

Trying again when you have failed is laudable, but also keep in mind that “If at first, you don’t succeed, you may be at your level of incompetence already.”— Laurence J. Peter

Alain

If my memory serves me well (it is not always the case), the game of pétanque was born in the South of France, where the temperature is usually mild, and where people play in light, comfortable garments.

But yesterday, in Marin County this is not what happened. It was cold and windy for most of the day, and despite my five layers of clothing I still felt ill at ease. This @#^$** weather didn’t prevent players from all over the Bay Area to attend, but for me personally, it was definitely not my cup of tea.

Still, 16 teams (48 players) showed up, eager to compete and pocket vast amounts of cash. I was supposed to team up with my friends Francois and Serge, but at the very last minute, due to acute shoulder pain, Serge (Tamalou) Hanne had to opt out of the game. Bleys Rose gracefully accepted to take his place and we were grateful for this, but being somewhat superstitious, I have always been averse to last-minute changes.

Despite this contretemps, we did fairly well and won 2 out of 3 games in the morning. But in the afternoon (having been selected to play in the Concours) we were quickly booted out of the tournament.

Even though nobody likes to lose, I was not greatly affected by this development. To me, pétanque and photography always go hand in hand. With the help of Sneaky Pete II, I devoted the rest of the afternoon to trying to capture interesting pictures. Pay close attention by the way to the electric pole and the woodpecker…

As usual, in this sort of tournament, you have a blend of heavyweight and light players, and soon or later, skills and experience will prevail. Yesterday, it became obvious very early that one team did not come all the way from Fresno to return empty-handed.

In the Concours Finals, By Vang, Kham Chounlamany, and Janice Bissonnette faced Tom Lee, Brendan Cohen and Tim Wetzel. The Fresno team showed great cohesion and skills, and very soon it was all over. The game ended fairly early by a score of 13/5 in favor of the Fresnans. Congratulations lady and gentlemen!

Concours:

1^st place: By Vang, K. Chounlamany, J. Bissonnette ($171 to team)
2^nd place: Tom Lee, Brendan Cohen, Tim Wetzel ($144 to team)
3^rd place: Ed Porto, Louis Toulon, Wolfie Kurz ($114 to team)

Consolante:

1^st place: P. Moua, Krystal Pulsipher, Tim Peppel ($84 to team)
2^nd place: N. Marcovecchio, N. Semenenko, T. Efron ($57 to team)

Alain

PS: watch the pictures “Full Screen”