Au Cochonnet Marin

Last Tuesday I went for another Covid-19 booster shot. Unlike the previous occurrences, it left me a little woozy and irritable, and 3 days after the deed my arm is still sore and itchy.

Your mood and your thinking are very often controlled by your body’s shenanigans. When you don’t feel well, you are more likely to be bad-tempered and uncooperative. If the condition persists, you might even become permanently depressed and misanthropic. But be careful…

“A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.” John Steinbeck

So, when you meet somebody, instead of the ritual “hello” or any other kind of greeting, it seems reasonable to me to start a conversation with a friendly “how do you feel?”. If the other person does not respond reassuringly, avoid asking for money or any other favor.

The same goes for diplomacy. Before negotiating any deal, diplomats should enquire about each other’s health. If they don’t get a positive answer, they should postpone the deal… or have a few drinks prior to negotiating. For instance, do not try to parley with Putin unless you have been assured that he had a few shots of vodka ahead of time.

In America, we just voted, and many people cast their ballots angrily because of the cost of living. Egged on by a red-hatted second-rate politico, they blamed Joe Biden for that. Joe does not have anything to do with this. The real culprit is Vladimir Putin, with his reckless war with Ukraine. Everybody should know by now, that Ukraine has not been called “the granary of Europe” for nothing.

Unbeknown to many, it has fed the world for decades and has always been the envy of its big neighbor. The only way to stop inflation is to force Putin to back off or vanish.

 “The right to vote is not the expression of a mood, it is a decision with regard to one’s country, with regard to its children.” Jacques Chirac

 Alain

Every morning I watch American news on ABC and French news on TV5. And not surprisingly, the content of these 2 broadcasts can be widely different.

Right now, America is preoccupied with midterms elections and Ukraine. The French are paying more attention to Iran and its convulsions.

In Iran and Russia, the leadership picked fights with the wrong adversaries. After Russia’s blatant aggression against Ukraine, the determined neighbor had no intention to throw in the towel and is punching back ferociously. Any idiot (listen up Vladimir) knows that it is always better to “let sleeping dogs lie.”

After 40 years of mullahs’ petty harassment, Iranians are finally waking up and protesting the persecution of the “Holier than thou” clerics and the hated “morality police”.

These last few weeks the Islamic Republic of Iran has been shaken off its foundations by angry mobs demanding an end to the subjugation and marginalization of women. And it’s not only women urging the end of this nefarious “theocracy”; men are also joining in, demanding an end to this barbaric oppression.

Mullahs are now the target of their former disciples. I watched with glee on television young passersby harassing their former tormentors and knocking off their turbans.

There is nothing more nefarious than a theocracy. Under the guise of piety, religious bullies are grabbing power and imposing absurd rules to control every aspect of their countrymen’s lives. Thankfully, the clergy is now losing ground in educated democracies around the world and toning down their crude rhetoric.

“I believe in an America … where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Amen!

Iranians should know that few people around the world are fond of meddling clergy. After the French Revolution of 1789, “approximately thirty thousand priests had been forced to leave France, and several hundred who did not leave were executed.” 

In Iran, the ruling class headed by a powerful (and antiquated) “Supreme Leader” does not give a damn about common people or women. The Shah was no pussycat, but the mullahs are much worse.

It is my fervent hope that the Iranians will succeed in overthrowing their present leaders and start anew with a real democracy “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of state, typically through elected representatives.”

Democracy, fragile democracy is in trouble around the world, and in America. If you don’t want red-hatted fanatics to take over and take away your basic rights, hurry to the voting booths and cast your vote. Every single vote counts!

Alain

I have always asserted that, periodically, regardless of age or sex, everyone needs deserves a new toy. You do because the routine can be numbing, and the lack of excitement can lead to creeping unhappiness. 

So, a few months ago, I bought a new “joujou”… A 2022 Honda Accord Touring… the hybrid model.

“A new man is like a new toy. Fresh and interesting. Almost intriguing. It’s like when you get a new car. Everything is different. The smell, the sound of the horn and seats, and it even ride good for a while. That’s what a man is like to me.” –  Jeanette Michelle

 Everybody knows how to drive a car. “It is elementary my dear Watson…” Well, that’s what I thought, but my previous car was almost 10 years old, and it is surprising how, in just a decade, so many innovations can be implemented.

Today’s car is nothing like yesterday’s jalopy. It is loaded with push-button applications, and it takes a certain time to master them all some. I have been driving this car now for almost 5 months, and (with the assistance of my inquisitive wife) I am still discovering new features almost every week.

 Sure, the new toy comes with a thick owner’s manual, but you cannot read it “au galop” like a “San Antonio” trashy novel. You need to peruse it like a bible, verse by verse… and take a few minutes to reflect on what the scribe initially meant.

And like a piano, you need to practice almost every day to play without partition… which you should not try on the freeway. It could be a little “pericoloso”.

A new car is like a new wife. You have to know which button to push to make it go smoothly… and you don’t learn this in a few weeks. For some people it takes years… Take Adaptive Cruise Control for instance. When you know how to use it, it is great, but the vocabulary explaining it was a little confusing.

Maybe it was the translation from Japanese to English that was a little deficient… But now, due to my persistence, I know how to use it. The same cannot be said for my wife though; after many years of coexistence, I am sometimes still hesitant about which button to press to steer her the right way… I need to review the manual which was originally written in Russian…  « Traduttore, traditore ».

But as long as I can drive my car knowing only 3/4 of its features, I will be happy. And that’s what matters.

See you on the road!

Alain