Au Cochonnet Marin

Desertification is not a word that you would commonly hear in America, but it is often mentioned in French news broadcasts.

The Oxford Languages dictionary defines desertification as “the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.”

But this term is not exclusively reserved to define land conditions. In France, it is usually used in a social context.

Deserted streets and closed shops… This is the problem that plagues many small communities… and probably the world over. Due to the exodus of young people to cities and intensified Internet competition, many small businesses (grocery stores, butcher shops, bakers, doctors, etc.) have closed and left the locals in a state of social desertification.

But besides regular commerce, what locals miss most are cafés, bistros, and restaurants. Social waterholes. The disappearance of these meeting places significantly degrades their lifestyle.

Traditionally, friends would meet at cafés and bistros to chat and vent. The local café visit could be seen as a substitute for a shrink’s visit.

But France is not the only country suffering from desertification. The problem is worldwide, also observable in America. Surprised? How many cafés or bistros do you have in your community? Probably none or very few. And fast-food businesses or dreary bars do not qualify as cafés.

Starbucks establishments, by the way, are not authentic cafés. They are just pale imitations of the real McCoy… Bistros tend to focus more on a friendlier atmosphere and less on getting patrons in and out the door.

We don’t need more freeways and shopping centers. Human beings are very similar to canines. They are pack animals, and to be contented they need to socialize. Why do you think that hounds are so eager to visit dog parks?

“I think we should have more coffeehouses, more cafes, more “third places.” More places where people can get together that’s not work, not home, and where they can interact with people who are different from them.” ~ Eric Weiner

Amen!

Alain

 

What I will most remember about the San Rafael June 11^th tournament was the frigid wind that swept the field for most of the day. We are in June for crying out loud and everybody should be in shorts and T-shirts. Some people (probably to their ever-lasting sorrow) were dressed that way and had to endure this ungodly weather all day.

The only exception to this predicament was Kevin Evoy who spent most of the day wearing shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. Kevin is a great player, but in my book, he is nuttier than a five-­pound fruitcake. Despite my 5 layers of clothing, I was still cold and shivering.

The second thing I will also remember is that, due to some unrelenting back pain, I had to forgo playing in this tournament. I really wanted to, but was truly incapable of doing so.

The third thing that bugged me that day was the light. For a photographer, light is everything and yesterday’s light was atrocious. Specs of sunshine filtering through the trees, projecting uneven dark spots all over the field… A photographer’s nightmare. You will undoubtedly notice this in the quality of the photographs. But don’t blame me, blame the weatherman.

Otherwise, everything was great. Twenty-two (22) double teams registered to play and the whole thing had the feeling of a family affair.

A very pleasant surprise was the appearance of Jean-Claude Etallaz, who after many months of a deeply distressing experience, jumped back on the saddle and registered to play. We are extremely pleased by this development and hope to see him regularly on our field again. Welcome back Jean-Claude (and Minette) and thank you for your delicious apricot tart.

With Christine Cragg still luxuriating in France, Mike O’Leary, Sara Danielson and Shama Kota-Gutheti took over and ran the tournament… and they did an excellent job. Thank you, guys, for your great support.

As usual, 3 games were played before lunch, and in the afternoon elimination games took place to separate the journeymen from the Stars.

I was busy most of the day taking photographs and the only game that I watched in its entirety was the Concours Finals.

Peter Mathis and Patrick Vaslet faced Mone Lee and Phominik Lee and since all these finalists were excellent players, we were treated to a great game. At the beginning of the match, Mone and Phominick took the lead, but shortly after, Peter and Patrick caught up with them and steadily increased their lead.

Everybody played extremely well. The pointers did a great job and so did the shooters, but after a while, the incredible pointing of Patrick Vaslet must have had some effect on the other team, and they started to lose control of the situation.

The final score was 13/6 in favor of Peter and Patrick, but every player deserved a medal. It was a great game and a great finish to a miserably cold day.

CONCOURS

First place: Peter Mathis/Patrick Vaslet
Second place: Mone Lee/Phominik Lee
Third place: Dave Lanter/Dan Lanter

CONSOLANTE

First place: Hans Kurz/Wolf Kurz
Second place: Joe Danielson/Abby Danielson
Third place: Louis Toulon/Nina Semenenko (assisted by Tamara Efron)

Alain

PS: be sure to watch the pictures in full screen for best results

When I came to America, I was extremely surprised by the number of women driving cars. In France at that time, a woman behind the wheel of a car was still a rarity… and a curiosity.

Women today are everywhere, drive and fly everything (including large airliners) and nobody raises an eyebrow about this. They have proven time and time again that they can do absolutely everything that a man can do, and that’s that.

And this point was driven home forcefully yesterday when I visited a friend’s home. This woman (recently divorced) used to live in a large, but poorly designed dwelling. While she was married, it looked like she was totally under the sway of her husband and did very little without his consent. But shortly after her divorce, the chrysalis morphed into a butterfly.

That woman rolled up her sleeves and took it upon herself to totally remodel her home, learning every skill as she went along. She tore down walls, redesigned and remodeled the kitchen, moved chandeliers, replastered, and repainted partitions, polished and repainted floors… a spectacular tour-de-force, done almost entirely solo.

Honestly, I don’t think that I could have accomplished all she did… But in fact, anyone can become a true hero.

During World War Two for example, as men were drafted, women were needed to replace them. They took almost every job usually attributed to men and did very well. They were also needed as codebreakers, and they excelled there.

“The work required a strong understanding of math since many ciphers replace letters with numbers and then hide the original message with equations. The codebreakers also needed a good memory, patience, and persistence. The women learned tricks, such as looking for short phrases that sometimes marked the start of the coded notes, like “begin message here.” This would help them pry open the rest of the code—but the work was never easy.”

 So, don’t ever underestimate the power of the “little women”. They might be small in stature, but mighty when determined. Personally, I would welcome a woman to lead our nation. She certainly would not do a worse job than a certain has-been, egotistical, unrepentant former head of state.

Alain