Au Cochonnet Marin

Time flies. About 50 years ago a handful of French expats decided to start a pétanque club… a ridiculous enterprise in a land where this “mysterious” game was almost totally unheard of. But “to a valiant heart nothing is impossible”, and after many false starts, La Pétanque Marinière was born.

Of the original protagonists, only 2 people are still alive: Louis Toulon and Charlie Davantes. And to prove that pétanque is good for you, both over 80, are still (occasionally) playing. How many athletes do you know that can boast such records? Most of the time, past 35-40 you are a has-been and out to pasture.

“Pétanque and sex are the only two activities you can enjoy while being mediocre”

Yesterday La Pétanque Marinière celebrated its 50^th anniversary and many people came to take part in this party. Among them, the Joske clan, lead by their matriarch Maryse Joske. For those who still don’t know, Pierre Joske was the person most responsible for the creation of our beautiful field. Thank you very much Joske family.

 Many people participated in the success of the club, but one stands out, and for many, she is the only Club President that they have ever known. Her name is Christine Cragg and yesterday (as always) she was instrumental in the favorable outcome of our celebration. Among many other things, she spent a long, long time putting together a collection of photographs displayed during this event. She was also helped by her faithful husband Larry who, among other things, set up the very professional sound system.

Personally, I give Christine a lot of credit for leading the club for so long. Being president is not an easy job, and very few capable people are postulating for the post… Above all, unlike some other deranged president, she will never attack any other club to enlarge her following. Thank you, Christine, for keeping the peace with all the other independent clubs.

“What is exciting about pétanque is that even if you play very badly, it is always possible to worsen your game.”

As I said earlier, many volunteers lent a hand to the party. On the food side, Sabine Mattei and Mireille Di Maio did an excellent job purchasing and arranging the eatables. They were also assisted by Nina, Tamara and Wendy. Thank you all for a job extremely well done.

I cannot mention all the volunteers that were of assistance, but I also noticed that Sara Danielson and Shama were part of the working crew. Thank you very much, ladies.

In the afternoon, after the speeches and personal testimonies, a little Concours consisting of 3 untimed games took place. The tournament ended around 4:00 pm and medals were awarded to the best players.

They were:

1^st place: Bernard Passemar & MarieAnne Curley
2^nd place: John Morrison & Patricia Biscay
3^rd place: Frazer Bradshaw & Helen McGill

Thank you all for coming and making this event memorable.

Alain

PS: Don’t forget to look at the pictures that took me a very long time to choose, crop, and correct. I hope that you will like them.

Quantity does not necessarily mean quality, and yesterday at La Petanque Marinière, even though we were few, we had talent.

Shama and Christine C. were tallying the entries, and at 10:00 am when we started playing, we were a grand total of 28 + 2 dogs. Fourteen (14) doublettes. La crème de la crème if I may say.

It was decreed that we would play 2 untimed games in the morning and 3 games in the afternoon.

Fate assigned Jerry Wilkinson as my partner, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person. We made a good team, and in the morning, we won one game out of 2. In the afternoon we won 2 more games for a grand total of 3 out of 5. Jerry shot well and I pointed decently. Not too bad for a tired Tamalou!

Since there were no elimination games, I had to play steadily throughout the day, and I didn’t have much of a chance to take any pictures. I managed just a few, “a la sauvette”. Sorry about that.

At 4:00 pm it was all over, and Shama and Christine gathered all the data to anoint the best players. As usual, the number of wins and the number of points determined the winners.

If you have not yet noticed, we are witnessing the emergence of a new star. The one and only Ann Krilanovich and I sensed it right away when she first strolled into our field less than a year ago. Congratulations and a big hug dear Ann!

Final results:

1^st place: Hellen McGill & Ann Krilanovich
2^nd place: Eddy Pay & Larry Cragg
3rd place: Delio Cuneo & Beth Caetano
4^th place: Joe Danielson & Lynn Bell

And that’s the way it was in our glorious Marin County, Sunday, October 9, 2022.

Alain

PS: Watch a few pictures of this event and the beaming faces of the winners in a new little album.

L’autre jour, j’ai rencontré une Française, qui après avoir passé 50 ans aux Etats-Unis, a décidé de rentrer en France pour y vivre. Ce n’est pas « mission impossible » mais c’est probablement difficile.

Je suis moi-même né à Paris, et j’ai vécu en France jusqu’à l’âge de 23 ans; après quoi, éprouvé par la guerre d’Algérie, et lassé du climat politique de l’époque, j’ai fait ma valise et je suis parti pour les Etats-Unis. J’y ai vécu un grand nombre d’années, et j’y habite encore. J’aime la France et ma ville natale, et je suis toujours heureux d’y revenir, mais je crois que je serais incapable de m’y réintégrer.

Bien que je parle encore (presque) couramment le Français, quand je viens maintenant en France, je m’y sens un peu comme un étranger. Beaucoup de choses me sont inconnues, et comme un touriste, je crains toujours de commettre des impairs. Je me souviens encore d’un voyage à Paris où un jour d’été, j’ai voulu acheter une bouteille d’eau minérale pour me rafraichir.

Ne connaissant pas le quartier où je me promenais, j’ai arrêté une jeune dame et lui ai demandé où se trouvait l’épicerie la plus proche. Elle m’a regardé d’un air interrogatif et j’ai tout de suite compris qu’elle ne me comprenait pas. Épicerie ? a-t-elle répété d’un air dubitatif… et bien oui madame, un petit magasin où l’on peut acheter des fruits et des légumes, des épices… ou de l’eau minérale. Ah m’a-t-elle enfin dit, vous voulez dire un « supermarché ? » Oui, c’est cela madame… un supermarché…

Voilà ce qui arrive quand l’on vit longtemps à l’étranger. Inconsciemment, l’on devient étranger à son tour. Comme beaucoup de mes semblables, je me sens maintenant plus Américain que Français, et les mots anglais me viennent plus facilement à l’esprit que les mots français…  Un peu peut-être comme nos cousins Canadiens français, qui parlant le français, ne se sentent plus français du tout.

Mais malgré tout, l’on ne se refait pas complètement. Les Parisiens sont connus pour leur esprit frondeur, et en dépit de mon long séjour en exil, j’ai conservé cette « qualité » bien française. J’ai gardé un esprit critique et je ne me gêne pas pour m’en servir quand l’occasion se présente.

C’est mon jardin secret… que je ne peux partager qu’avec des Parisiens. Les autres ne comprendraient pas… ce n’est pas de la méchanceté, c’est une pointe de malice… juste comme un peu de piment dans un met insipide.

Mais en dépit de tout…

« On ne peut aimer mieux qu’à Paris ; il n’est pas meilleur endroit au monde pour attendre un être aimé, qu’une place parisienne en fin d’après-midi, sous la pluie. « Jacques Attali

C’est absolument vrai!

Alain