10.28.05
Bocce soothes the nerves
Just down the street from our house is a bocciodromo - a indoor court for people (mostly older men) to play bocce (or in Italian). While on a walk after a stressful evening, Jason, Josh & I decided to go in to watch some of the action.
It was quite clear from the beginning that we didn’t belong. Some of the men glanced up at us, but quickly went back to their game. None of us had any clue how to play bocce. There was a little red ball (white in the picture), and a bunch of other balls that the guys threw. And by “threw” I mean launched 50 meters with incredible accuracy.
After a bit, Jason got up the nerve to go up to one of the guys and ask him to explain the rules to him. The man seemed eager to tell Jason all about the game - even taking him into the locker room to open up his foam-lined case with holes cut out for the bocce. When he was finished, Jason came back over to where we were standing, and we headed home.
It reminded me how just asking a few questions about something that people are interested in gives us a window into their lives.