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
news@losangelespetanque.com
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
news@losangelespetanque.com 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