Au Cochonnet Marin

Last Saturday, I woke up around 7:00 am to the sound of rain hammering my roof. I thought immediately that the scheduled Marin mêlée tournament would be canceled, but I was greatly surprised to learn that it was not. Our Supreme Leader obviously knew better than Little Old Me (they always do) and I accepted her assessment.

But the sky looked sullen, with big gray clouds darkening the horizon, and I didn’t feel like venturing out. I was going to stay put and work on my Russian vocabulary. But curiosity got the best of me, and after a light breakfast and a hot drink, I drove to the field around 10:00 am.

I expected to encounter at most a dozen hardcore aficionados, but saperlipopette, I counted 28 people on the field. You read it correctly TWENTY-EIGHT! Too numerous to mention all of them, but my pictures will confirm my saying.

Armed with Sneaky Pete (my innocuous-looking spying camera), I resolved to snap a few pictures and fly the coop. A cloudy sky, by the way, is ideal for taking pictures… no annoying shades, and no pesky reflections.

So, after about one hour on the court, I packed my gear and returned home around 11:00 am.

In the afternoon though, instead of getting worse, the weather improved and invited me to return to the field.

I was back around 3:00 pm and went to work again. An anemic sun was filtering through the clouds and instead of comforting me, it bothered me. It made taking clear pictures more difficult and forced me to change location more often. When you have a permanently cranky back, you have to take everything into consideration.

I forgot to mention that Christine and Shama expertly ran this mêlée tournament, and that it consisted of 5 games: 2 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. When I showed up again later that day, most people were finishing their 4^th or started their 5^th game.

By 5:00 pm, it was all over and time to have a hearty drink (I wish), take pictures, and hand out big moola to the victors. I did my job as expected and ran home immediately after where it was warm and cozy.

1^st place: Fabian & Ron Rohlfes                     $64.00 ea
2^nd place: Mark Shirkey & Larry Cragg      $46.00 ea
3^rd place: Noël & Loël 😆                                    $30.00 ea

Happy Superbowl, fellow boulomen!

Alain

Feast your eyes on my pictures… preferably on a large screen!

When you are retired, you absolutely need hobbies, otherwise, you will get bored… and badger your spouse ad nauseam… with deadly consequences.

I have a few hobbies, among them linguistics, and I always have been relatively successful with some foreign languages… if they use Latin characters. But when faced with foreign alphabets (Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, Cyrillic, etc.) I get immediately thrown out of the game.

Since I live in a semi-Slavic environment, my latest project is to be able to read Russian text fluently. No small task my friends… comparable in my mind to Hercules’ 12 Labors.

The Russian language is a mixture of early Phoenician, Greek, and Cyrillic alphabets, with a few Latin-looking characters thrown in the pot for good measure. But these familiar-looking characters turned out to be false friends. A Russian B for example is pronounced like a Latin V, and a Russian P is really an R.

With a Cyrillic chart by my side, I can decipher a few Russian words with the ability of a First grader… But this is not enough. I can and I will do better.

One of the saving (and surprising) graces of Russian is that it has “borrowed” a lot of words from a wide variety of languages. When you can finally read some Russian text, you are surprised by the abundance of foreign words (mainly French). After a little research, I discovered quite a few Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Greek, Yiddish, and Arabic words.

So, the key to reading Russian is the ability to remember what each strange character sounds like. It is like a music sheet. But the older you are, the more difficult it is, for the Latin-sounding characters have become so ingrained in your mind that it is difficult to think of any other sound.

There is a Russian saying that goes “An old friend is better than two new friends “and to me, this also applies to any alphabet.

Like in any discipline, you need to start everything young. I envy the little nippers aged 4 or 5 who, without knowing how to read, are totally fluent in 2 or 3 languages. It is not fair, and it ought to be censured.

I will end my little lecture by quoting something I recently learned in Russian. To answer the question “Will I ever be able to read or speak Russian fluently?” a Russian would probably answer:

 Да нет, наверное (Yes no, probably)… probably never.

Da svidaniya druzya…

Alain

As you probably know, I am about to publish another photo album. Why might you ask? Otherwise, what would be the point of taking pictures, or creating anything if you couldn’t show it off?

Over a century ago, Fred R. Barnard said, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it is still true today. Pictures shape opinions and make the world go round.

One way to preserve some of your pictures is to encapsulate them in a photo album. It looks good on a coffee table, and it helps to chat and share memories. Photo albums are tangible objects, easily accessible. They tell a story and can easily be shared with others.

A precise objective usually drives every project, and so is this one. In this photo album, the goal is to show the passion, the excitement of the game, and maybe encourage more people to embrace it. The game is still relatively new in the US, but I anticipate that it will grow and become extremely popular (as did soccer) in America.

Contrary to what some people might think, pétanque is not primarily an old men’s game. Especially in France (where the game was born) it is played early by kids who try to emulate their elders (and they often succeed). The game can be strenuous, and I guarantee that after spending a few hours on the field, you will sleep well.

When choosing pictures to populate this album, I always favor shots that capture the emotions and spirit of the moment, whether it is victory or defeat. I want to see passion and excitement on the faces and bodies of the players, and a grimacing face or a contorted body instantly qualifies its owner for a spot in this album.

Pictures of course should be as clear as possible, demonstrating passion and the will to succeed. Ultimately, the most important factor is choosing pictures that represent what you want to convey.

Overall, sharing a sports photo album with friends, family, and teammates can help spread excitement and camaraderie, and give others a glimpse into your experiences.

If you are interested, you can preview this album, by clicking on the following link:

https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/blank-canvas-30114889?vk=sWbwkaLHODvN4Q53uO1C

“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” ― Grantland Rice

Alain