Memorial Day

by: Doug

May 28, 2008

Memorial day was about as perfect as you could ask for.  75, breezy, sunny, and lots of food and friends.  I had the good fortune to make it to two picnics.  As with most any picnic up here (particularly those with any Italians present) our Memorial Day events have their own flavor.  Apart from the usual cookout…burgers and hot dogs…there is of course the ‘lawn games’.  Not least among these is Bocce, aka lawn bowling.  So to give you a small sample of what a picnic in New England may look like, here you are:

Take the little ball, the ‘pauline’ and toss it.  Each team then tries to get their balls closer.  Its more than just random rolling of granite balls.  There is strategy involved.  Knocking the pauline away or even the other team’s balls is part of the game.  You are never out of the game (Rob and I proved that as we came back from a 9-1 deficit to win 15-14).  Here he is demonstrating his unique approach to the game…the lob shot.    This is a fun picnic game, but its also a serious game for the older men in the community.  So much so there are bocce courts at about every CT beach.  Don’t try and walk up and claim “next”.  You are likely to get stared down by a few older Italian men who don’t have much patience for some whipper snapper who dares intrude on their fun.  Yes, it is serious business.    Me, I prefer the casual backyard game with friends.  Part of the fun is figuring out where the rocks, sticks, slope etc of the lawn is.  The backyard version of the game introduces more of an unpredictable aspect to the game…or maybe its just that its not as straightforward. 

SO there you go.  Some useless bits of information on bocce and CT picnicking.