LAPC Reporter - Los Angeles Petanque Club
Transcription
LAPC Reporter - Los Angeles Petanque Club
NUMBER 1 Official Publication of the Los Angeles Pétanque Club January Tournament and Birthday Fête Impromptu VOLUME XIII Words and images by Tiaré Ferrari S unday, the eleventh day of the New Year, was a beautiful sky blue day. It was also as warm as anyone could hope for on a perfect Los Angeles summer’s day. We felt lucky, winter had given us a brief reprieve from it’s otherwise, cold and overcast demeanor. It was just the right day to begin the year’s assorted competitions and tournaments—and in high fashion we started the year with a Doublette Panache. We had a nice-sized crowd of our regular club members who came to compete, and to carouse during the lunch hour. We also were honored with Robert Pierre who said that he had come all the way from Nice for this event, and a new member, Yehuda Kommemi. Teams were paired up, and the games FEBRUARY 2009 began. Did I mention that the weather was perfect? Warm, not hot, with a gentle breeze blowing to cool us—all troubles left far behind as we played pétanque in the fashion of the those who came before us. We also celebrated two birthdays—those of Micky Grenier, and Felix Legrand. Micky, being a lady, demurred when asked her age, while Felix proudly stated that he had turned 69, and elaborated that this year was a lucky one. We sang several rounds of the Birthday Song, and then there was cake. There was cake, and cake, and cupcakes for all. There were also a variety of French beverages for refreshing one’s throat on this unseasonably lovely day. We played late into the afternoon when the shadows grew long. Five matches continued on page 2 Inquiries: Max Legrand 310/479-5230 Crêpe Chandeleur Defies Inclement Weather Words and pictures by Tiaré Ferrari I t had been raining for days and to be truthful, off and on for weeks. When it wasn’t raining, the weather was cold. It was that biting cold, with the wind that seeps into the bones. It was cold, but we continued to play pétanque out of some sort of duty to the boules. Flasks in hand to warm at least the spirit if not the blood, we played when the rain gave us enough of a semidry piste to play on. In France, the second day of February is a religious day called La Chandeleur, or the Candlemas, and is also known as Crêpe Day, for the day is traditionally celebrated with the making delicious crepes of all kinds. Committed to putting together a tournament of a select doublette plus one mélée, in recognition of La Chandeleur, we looked out of our windows on the designated tournament date of February 8, and saw that the rain had not yet stopped. The tournament had to be cancelled, and was rescheduled for February 14, Valentines Day. All week the rain continued off and on and the boules stayed in their cases waiting for the rain to stop. More rain was predicted, and it looked like the Tournament might be cancelled again. “Oh la vache!” and the Executive foot was put down; “ENOUGH of this rain, it WILL stop, we WILL have our tournament, and we WILL have our crepes!” And so, despite the newscasters’ prediction of more rain, we had our Executive Decree. The morning of the February 14 brought clear blue skies and a crisp brightness – wind and rain free. The tournament was on! The crêpes would be had at last! There were a total of 24 players for the day, and those hardy souls who took medals home were: First Place – Felix Legrand, Yehuda Kommemi, Michel Cardon Second Place – Chuck Rapoport, Violeta Hug, Artem Zuev Third Place – Michel Brand, Myriam Stettler, Max Legrand On the fifteenth of February, it began to rain again. 2 LAPC Reporter LAPC COMMITTEE President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Tournaments Grounds Maintenance Publications New Members Sponsorships Cuisine and Training President Emeritus Max Legrand Bruce Marcus Diana Jacobs Carol Marcus Emil Hug Sandra Bonneville Scott Hirotsu Steve Bush Ben Bull Karen Michele Yates Tiaré Ferrari Violeta Hug Chuck Rapoport Felix Legrand Robert Breidenstein www.losangelespetanque.com [email protected] The L.A. Pétanque Reporter is published irregularly by the Los Angeles Pétanque Club. Contents and opinions are those of each article author. We regret but will not be held liable for omissions or errors contained within this publication. Please submit comments, photos, and articles to the editor at [email protected] or in person at the Rancho Park pétanque courts. Editor: Photojournalist: Contributing Editor: Contributing Editor: Sage Advice: Ben Bull Karen Michele Yates Tiaré Ferrari Chuck Rapoport Steve Bush A member club of Fédération of Pétanque USA and the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal February 2009 PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - Vito Cascio by Rachel Tarses and Barbara Tawil H ave you ever gone to a wedding that the groom didn’t attend? Vito’s father’s family had a small farm in Sicily which couldn’t support the family after the children were grown so when Vito’s father was a young man he went to Tunisia where he worked on the railroad. Although Tunisia was a French Colony, there were many more Italians than French living there. Vito was born in Maxula Rades, in Tunisia, one of seven boys. Many people had large families in those days, which Vito jokes was due to the fact that television wasn’t invented yet. An older brother was a printer in the town and he taught Vito the trade. Vito completed 2 years of college in Tunisia and worked as a printer for a newspaper. In 1942 he was called by Italy to serve in World War II. British and American troops landed at Algiers and Casablanca in French North Africa on November 8, 1942 and on November 15th the French in Africa joined the Allies. Six months after being inducted into the Italian Army, Vito was taken prisoner by the French. Because he had been a printer, as a POW he was put to work as a typographer for the first two and a half years. The last six months of his imprisonment he processed prisoners and refugees. After the War, everyone was taken to Italy. Since Vito fought against the French, he was not allowed to return to Tunisia. In 1945 he was in a refugee camp in Naples where he remained for the next four years. While there, because he was a good soccer player, he was invited to play Division III soccer outside the camp. He was paid a small salary and the camp remained his home. Vito knew a man who intended to go to America. This man had three daughters and invited Vito to marry one of them and come to the United States. He showed Vito pictures of the girls and Vito chose Maria. They corresponded and met and subsequently became engaged. Maria was living in Sicily at the time although she was born in Tunisia also. In 1950, Vito heard from his parents that he could return to Tunisia but Maria could not go with him for political reasons. Vito returned home to care for his aging parents. In 1951, Vito and Maria married by proxy with him in Tunisia and Maria in Sicily. Maria’s brother-in-law stood in for Vito and now Maria could join him in Tunisia. They lived there for 10 years, had two children and put their names on the American quota waiting list. Vito’s parents died, Algeria achieved its independence from France, and Tunisians wanted the same. People afraid of the revolution left, Jews to Israel, French to France etc. Vito had been earning good money with two well-paying jobs but life in Tunisia was becoming more difficult. They checked their place on the quota list and learned Maria could go to the U.S. immediately because her father was already there, but Vito and the children would have to wait. Then Congress changed the law and they were all allowed to come together in 1960. They settled in California with her family. Vito’s English was poor and he couldn’t get work. When he finally landed his first job as typographer, he lost it the same day because he used the metric system rather than the English system. He went back to school and learned English. After five years he got his high school diploma and also became a citizen. He took many low paying jobs but eventually got a break. Through an Italian acquaintance he learned of a job in the kitchen of Prudential where he received benefits as well as salary. Transferred to the building maintenance area, he was able to assist and learn from an electrician. He returned to technical college for 5 years and became a certified electrician at the age of 52. He and Maria had had a third child and all three were soon going to be ready for college. Vito went to work for Hughes Helicopter in building maintenance where the Apache helicopters were built. He retired at age 67. Vito and Maria have many interests. They are active in the Italian Club of Pasadena, the French Club and the Senior Center. About 20 years ago, Vito saw an article in the LA Times about the LAPC. He had played pétanque in Tunisia. He joined our club and has been a member since. He also plays cards with some of the LAPC members. Vito says he has a good wife, good children, and now he and Maria are proud grandparents of twin boys who turned 5 years old in February. KEEP UP-TO-DATE WITH NATIONAL AND GLOBAL PÉTANQUE ACTIVITY AT USAPETANQUE.ORG February 2009 LAPC Reporter 3 January, from page 1 January tournament winners that could be corralled for a photo: Robert Bonneville, Emil Hug, Micky Grenier, Michel Cardon, Serge Lefranc, Felix Legrand. Meet the New Folks… in all brought us the following: Robert Bonneville, firstplace, Emile Hug, second place, Michel Cardon, third place, Moe Tawil, fourth place, Serge LeFranc, fifth place, Serge Almeras, sixth place, Yehuda Kommemi, seventh place, Ly Van Nguyen, eighth place, and finishing off the winners circle were the two birthday kids, Felix Legrand, ninth place, and Micky Grenier, tenth place. Pack a lunch and put the next match on your schedule; we’ll see you there! LO S A N G E L E S P É TA N Q U E C L U B UPCOMING EVENTS MARCH 8 (SUN) Panache Triplette Memorial Tournament APRIL 19 (SUN) Panache Doublete MAY 17 (SUN) Los Angeles Open Select Triplette at San Pedro JUNE 13 (SAT) Nancy Chao Nancy is a brandnew member and player of pétanque. She works as a corporate tour guide in Los Angeles, and found the LAPC through the website. Yehuda Kommemi After suffering extreme lung damage, Yehuda moved to the Dead Sea to convalesce. In pursuit of local activity, he was guided to pétanque, in Arad. He joined up and liked it. On his recent return to the US, he found the LAPC, and joined. Kurt Lundblad Kurt lives in Donner, near Truckee, but has been doing consulting work here in Los Angeles. He learned to play pétanque from his neighbor in Donner, and as he spends the week down here, he found the club, and joined up, to play during the week. John Rouard John is a returning member, and we welcome him back to the LAPC. IT’S NOT TOO EARLY! BOOK YOUR LODGING NOW FOR THE L.A. OPEN SELECT TRIPLETTE TOURNAMENT AT SAN PEDRO, ON SUNDAY, MAY 17. THE DETAILS AND HOTEL LIST WILL BE SENT OUT SOON. 4 LAPC Reporter FPUSA Southwest Regional Mélée Triplette JUNE 14 (SUN) FPUSA Southwest Regional Select Triplette JULY 19 (SUN) Panache Doublette AUGUST 9 (SUN) Mélée Doublette SEPTEMBER 13 (SUN) Panache Triplette OCTOBER 11 (SUN) Select Doublette NOVEMBER 8 (SUN) Mélée Mixed Triplette DECEMBER 5 (SAT) Triplette Panache DECEMBER 6 (SUN) Holiday Dinner Registration is typically 8:30-9:00 a.m. with play beginning at 9:30 a.m. Entry fees and prizes vary by type of event. Casual games all day on non-tournament Saturdays and Monday and Thursday evenings on the lighted courts. Bring a friend! February 2009