2014 Interclub Tournament

Due to prior commitments I could not attend this event, but I managed to twice sneak away from family obligations and come to the field to witness the semi-finals and the finals of this tournament.

Six Bay Area pétanque clubs sent their champions to participate in this event. They were:

Valley of the Moon (Sonoma)
Jean-Michel Poulnot, Peter Wellington, Mike Cooper, Adair Hastings, Narin Garrett, Barbara Hall, Bernard Passmar, Holly Sammons, Frosty Sabo, Kevin Evoy, Dave Lanter, Alan Bauermeister.

La Pétanque Marinière (San Rafael)
Jean-Claude Etallaz, Colette Van Der Meulen, Sabine Mattei, Helga Facchini, Eva Lofaro, Henry Wessel, Genevieve Etallaz, Louis Toulon, Calvert Barron, Antoine Lofaro, David Riffo, Francois Moser.

Lamorinda
Carolina Jones, Dollzee Austin, Robert Belforte, Beth Lysten, Philippe Guerit, Bill Hansen

La Boule d’Or (San Francisco)
Jean-Claude Bunand, Alain Gusella, Danielle Gusella, Luc Pouget.

Sacramento
Helen McGill, Marie-Anne Curley, Lisa Vaughn, Simone Furlan, Kevin McGill, John Morris.

Petaluma
Steven Jones, Ed Porto, Jim Johnson, Christine Jones, Nancy Jencks, Kathy Stone, Hans Kurz, Bleys Rose, Les Stone, Wolfie Kurz.

As I was told, 3 doublettes games were originally played and individual scores were kept for each player.

Then, the 3 highest scorers of each club were chosen to compete against the 3 highest scorers of the other clubs.

**********

In the semi-finals, San Rafael (Jean-Claude Etallaz, Calvert Barron and Antoine Lofaro) faced Petaluma (Hans Kurz, Wolfie Kurz and Bleys Rose).

The coin toss to choose the playing area was won by Petaluma; they shrewdly elected to compete in the most demanding surface of the field.
It is an area where previously stood a tall tree. The tree was removed and the resulting hole was filled with a mixture of sand and gravel. A dangerous sand trap for inexperienced players. But a serious advantage for Petaluma contestants whose field is essentially covered with sand and gravel.

Usually reliable pointer Calvert Barron struggled to place winning shots and her teammates were powerless to fill the gap.

At 3:37 p.m. Petaluma was leading 9/1
At 4:00 p.m. it was over.
La Pétanque Marinière lost to Petaluma with the dismal score of 13/3.

In the finals, Petaluma faced Sonoma (Peter Wellington, Holly Sammons, Frosty Sabo).

The game was played away from the sandpit, and with well-balanced teams on each side it felt more like the finals of a tournament.
Both teams had good pointers (Holly and Hans) and good shooters (Peter and Wolfie).

During the entire game, scores went back and forth between the two teams.

At 4:40 p.m. Petaluma was leading 8/2
At 5:00 Sonoma closed the gap with Petaluma only leading 10/9
At 5:13 Sonoma took the lead 12/10
At 5:30 Petaluma scored 3 points and won the game by the skin of their teeth with a final score of 13/12.

Heartbreaking for Sonoma but well deserved victory for a resilient Petaluma team.

Petaluma we hate you! Congratulations!

IMG_5484

 Hans Kurz, Bleys Rose, Wolfie Kurz

Drinks and “amuse-gueules” were served after the tournament.

Alain

PS: If you wish to leave a comment about this little piece, double-click on the grey “speech bubble” located on the right of the title and leave your remarks in the designated area. Thank you.

 

How old are you?

I am not asking about your chronological age (measured from birth to present) but about your biological age.

“Your Biological Age is different from your Chronological age because it includes the speed at which a person is aging.”

geezerI am wondering about this because the other day I went for my annual flu shot and I encountered more elderly citizens that day than I usually do in a six months period. The clinic looked like a geezer’s convention minus the “escort” girls.
I spent at least twenty uncomfortable minutes surrounded by a bunch of old (at least looking old) people and I started to reflect on that.
Do I look like them? Do I walk like them? Am I (shudder) one of them?

“O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart
Cannot conceive nor name thee!” 

I am not afraid to say it; I am prejudiced. I am prejudiced (among many other things) against boring people, and unfortunately many older folks are.

It is when you lose touch with what’s happening around you that you become boring. Failing to keep interested in politics, finance, technology or sex will make you a dull, uninteresting person.
Then, in a conversation, what else could you talk about besides your blood pressure and your prescriptions drugs?

And you don’t have to be old to be that way.
Some people at 50 look older than some septuagenarians and they are of course excruciatingly boring. In other words, to be given a wide berth.

Ageing is due to many factors, but to slow down that process you need a fair amount of physical activity and mental gymnastic. You need to stimulate your neurons to keep them humming along.

And above all, you need a good sense of humor.

“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”  Robert Benchley

It is said that humorless people die young and it is a scientific fact that dead people seldom laugh.

george-burns-09Famed vaudevillian George Burns who lived to be 100 never lost it. He continued to work and be amusing until his demise.

The age you feel often determines your life’s outlook and your attitude.
If you feel old, you will act old.

But if there is a spring in your step, a bounce in your mind and if you still ogle the girls, you are on the right track.
You are not old; you are a valuable collector’s item.

Alain

PS: If you wish to leave a comment about this little piece, double-click on the grey “speech bubble” located to the right of the title and leave your remarks in the designated area.
Thank you.

I want to talk to a human being

Human beings seem to be a vanishing breed.
You might see some in the street but don’t be fooled, they are just androids controlled by gnomes hidden in secure rooms of tall glass buildings.

When you call a big outfit, it becomes increasingly difficult (if not impossible) to get in touch with a real Homo sapiens.

A Robocall system is usually in place to repulse intruders.

When you dial the company’s main number, a mellifluous voice will offer you multiple choices.
Push button # One for this, button # Two for that, button # Three for… etc.
Once you have made a tentative choice, you are offered another set of options. Button One for this, button Two for that, etc.
And so on and so forth.

The system as you can see, is designed to discourage bothersome callers from pursuing their inquiries.

If you are obstinate enough, you might be able to flush out a human being who was having coffee while perusing Fifty Shades of Grey.
You can easily understand that you are intruding on that person by interrupting that interlude.
You (the interloper) must proceed with caution. To soothe the beast, it might be a good idea to compliment the victim of this “coitus interruptus” about the harmonic qualities of her/his voice.

If you are persuasive enough, this person might connect you with another individual.
You will then have to repeat your first name, last name, social security number, the city where you were born and the date and the place where you lost your virginity.

If your interlocutor is still reluctant to give you the information that you are seeking, you could say that you are the head writer of a very important blog (like this one) and that you would like to interview the head honcho.

If this ploy fails, you might say that tonight you will make a fiery sermon at your local mosque about arrogant Infidels.
Or imply a bomb threat.

This usually gets attention.

Police-in-the-remote-vill-001You will be taken seriously but might have to suddenly put up with a group of balaclava-clad men fashionably dressed like baseball catchers and armed to the teeth.

I just wanted to know what my pension will be at 77 when I will reach my retirement age, you will try to tell them.

Never mind 77… Who do you work for? When did you come back from Syria?

On second thought, it might be easier to make an appointment, drive to the city, struggle for parking and eventually talk to a flunky who will give you a number to call.

Alain