Au Cochonnet Marin

Like in a crime drama’s last act, the masks are falling off! After months of shielding their faces, citizens are (hesitantly) starting to assemble with their peers barefaced. It is a good and peculiar feeling at the same time. Good, because masks have been a hindrance (especially if you wear glasses) but strange because of the novelty of it. It almost feels like embracing a new cult…

The human being can manage almost any constraint. Poverty, hunger, disease, imprisonment… And once you have lived through such a condition for a while, it becomes the new normal. The “old normal” becomes an almost forgotten feeling and it will take some time before you refamiliarize yourself with the old ways.

It will also feel strange to finally identify people that you met during the pandemic. You never had a good chance to see them without a mask, and their features are not familiar. It will be like meeting them again in earnest. It happened to me recently, and even though I rubbed shoulders with this person for months, I did not first recognize her without a mask.

The masks are falling off, but handshaking, hugging, and kissing will remain taboo for a while longer. Especially among the more mature set. The young will no doubt reembrace the old ways enthusiastically, but grownups will do so carefully, progressively. Exuberance slows down with age.

But despite some encouraging results, the pandemic is far from over. Many unfortunate countries (India, Brazil) are still facing the full force of the storm, and the world won’t be safe until everyone has been vaccinated.

Even in relatively modern countries, there are some stragglers… People who for strange ideological reasons refuse to get immunized against the disease. And among those, I am particularly disturbed by the so-called “faithful” reaction to the crisis. Especially the ultra-orthodox who seem to live on another planet… When the Titanic went down, God did not pick and choose who would live or who would die. God helps those who help themselves… I thought that everybody, especially the faithful, knew this…

And experts are saying that booster shots will be required. Like the flu season, the Covid-19 pandemic is going to become a recurring event, with what it entails.

Nevertheless, despite some hiccups, the masks are falling off. And fashionistas are thrilled! How can any young woman not be excited to show her pretty face again? Your face is your billboard and without a decent billboard, it is difficult to attract suitors… Yes, they will gladly remove their ungainly niqabs…

But ladies, you don’t really need a pretty face to attract… charm is the key.

“A beauty is a woman you notice; a charmer is one who notices you.” ~ Adlai E. Stevenson

I will pick a charmer anytime, with or without a mask.

Alain

Today we have many sophisticated means of communication, but some people still have a weakness for the “téléphone arabe” (the Arab phone, or bush telegraph). It is a rather ancient methodology, but despite its age, it works remarkably well.

The “Arab phone” is a French colloquialism roughly meaning “fast transmission of information by word of mouth”. It is a close cousin to gossip because what is being conveyed is usually “juicy” and not necessarily true. And since it might not be true, people prefer to remain anonymous when passing on titillating information.

“And why ‘Arab’? Because the expression originated in the 20th century regarding North African countries during colonization, a country where, before modern technologies spread there, important information was already circulating very quickly by word of mouth, via messengers or informants.”

 Lately, the Arab phone has been very active because when you are idle, what can you do? You grab the Arab phone and exchange titillating tidbits with your besties.

“Words have no wings, but they can fly a thousand miles. “~ Korean Proverb

Even farther! People are especially fond of sexual peccadillos or famous people’s unethical behavior. Like the college admissions scandal, or the pathetic aborted Mexican vacation of senator Ted Cruz.

Everybody knows that the rich and famous are a caste apart not subject to the same rules as the working stiffs. These people are usually discreet about their misdeeds and none is the wiser, but once in a while they are found out and subject to popular glee.

The Arab phone also works well to express politically incorrect thoughts… or if you have ties to some shady outfits. It is way more discreet than the “do-it-all” fancy mobile phones of today, and you cannot be prosecuted for what you allegedly said. Nobody can seize your Arab phone and search it for incriminating evidence.

In a polarized society dominated by snooping devices, it is much safer to use the Arab phone than the Apple iPhone. And it is much cheaper. If you want a candid/partial report of what transpired at some private meeting, take advantage of the Arab phone to coax information from a friend.

But take everything with a grain of salt… and never trust anybody who loudly proclaims, “ma bouche est un tombeau” (my lips are sealed). The Arab phone is entertaining… but not totally trustworthy.

Alain

Last Saturday, Tamara and I drove to Sonoma to participate in the Valley of the Moon 2021 Season Opener Tournament. We did this for various reasons.

First of all, this tournament might mean that after over a year of house arrest, our sentence has been commuted to an early release from imprisonment. We now feel free to visit our friends and share some good times with them.

I also did it because I have not played in a tournament for over a year, and above all because pétanque keeps me humble. It prevents me from getting a fat head and “fart higher than my arse”. On the field, you quickly learn that many people are much better than you and will swiftly bring you down a notch or two. It is highly therapeutic.

Last Saturday then, 23 select teams (46 players) came to Sonoma to compete. They came as far as Sacramento as Tom and Susie Lee did.
Joe La Torre (club president) and Michelle Benton (freelancing secretary?) welcomed us and signed us up for the tournament

Later on, in his welcome speech, Joe told us that the wearing of a mask was optional. Some people (including us) came masked, but many came bare-faced. By now, most of the people have received their Covid shots and since this tournament takes place in an open area, everybody felt (relatively) safe; by the end of the day, practically nobody was wearing a mask.

The games started around 9:30 am and ended up around 6:30 pm. By then it was cold and windy, and many people had already left.

Tamara and I started well. On our first game, we encountered Tom (the Cobra) and Susie Lee. Both good players, but we managed to beat them 13/9. When you win the first game, it gives you a big boost.

In our second game, we faced Evan Falcone and Christine Morier. Again, we did well and won 13/7. This auspicious beginning might shed some light on what I said earlier on. With each win, you grow confident and think that this streak will last.

On our third game, we came across Le Facteur and innocuous-looking Bill Miller. I don’t think that I ever played with Bill and knew very little about him. It turns out that he was the devil in disguise. No matter how well we did, Bill destroyed us with his murderous shots. We lost ignominiously by a score of 2/13… but we still qualified for the Concours.

After lunch, fate threw us in the clutches of Delio Cuneo and Casey Franklin. They won the coin toss and dragged us to a gravelly isolated area to have their way with us. They murdered us 1/13 and we were eliminated from the Concours.

I then changed costumes and slipped into my second role:  story raconteur through images. I could not be everywhere at the same time, but I did my best to photograph most of the players. Some are very photogenic, some less, but everybody seemed to have a good time.

The big moments of the day were the semi-finals and the finals of the Concours. In the semi-finals, Jean-Michel and Bill Miller faced Peter Mathis and Antoine Lofaro. Peter and Antoine prevailed. Then Kevin Evoy and Wolfie played against Ed Clay and Schōn. Kevin and Wolfie won.

In the Concours finals, Peter and Antoine were up against Kevin and Wolfie. All excellent players. Peter and Antoine took immediately the lead and at one time amazingly, they were I believe, leading 8 to nothing.

Kevin and Wolfie got increasingly nervous but finally managed to get on the board. Peter was without question the star of the game. He seldom missed a shot and contributed mightily to his team’s victory. Wolfie is also a great shooter, but I think that he got too nervous to be efficient. He missed quite a few shots.

Finally, around 6:30 pm, the tournament was over.  The final score was 13/5 in favor of Peter and Antoine. Joe La Torre awarded the prizes, I took photographs and it was all over. A great day of pétanque.

Concours
1^st place: Peter Mathis & Antoine Lofaro
2^nd place: Wolfie Kurz & Kevin Evoy
3^rd place : Jean-Michel Poulnot & Bill Miller

Consolante
1st place: Tom & Susie Lee
2^nd place:  Bernard Passemar & Adair Hastings

Alain

PS: I shot over 500 pictures. When I came home, I had to go through all of them and keep what I judged to be the most interesting. I managed to whittle down this number to around 200. I hope that you will enjoy the show and let me know about it.
Have fun!