Today I played bocce. Or should I say, today I bocced. I like that better.
As a child in Detroit I lived next door to a very, very Italian family, the Farraris. The Farraris were wonderful people. They had three daughters; the youngest, Louisa, was my age. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but there it is. I'm pretty sure the stereotype defining Italian-Americans was based on the Farraris. They were an extended family--Grandma Farrari was a little old lady who dressed in black, wore a babushka (or whatever the Italian version of the headscarf is called), and got up and went to church every morning for a 6:00 a.m. mass. Uncle Sammy was, well, I don't know. A retired Uncle? I have no idea. He was the old guy who lived with them, drove a burgundy Valiant, and was called Uncle Sammy. The Farraris made their own pasta. They made their own wine--they actually squashed the grapes in a small plastic pool in their garage. Three barrels worth each year. On Saturdays they went down to the open air market and came home with live chickens which were summarily dispatched and left to hang upside down in the back yard. And on Sundays, those glorious summer Sundays, they had dozens of people over--friends? family? Who knows? They all seemed to speak Italian, though! Their yard seemed full of people, and always among them were the men in sleeveless ribbed t-shirts and dress slacks, drinking the homemade red wine, and shouting and cheering about a fascinating game. Yes, the magic of those Sundays was bocce.
I was never invited to these gatherings. I was just a little kid next door. But I was fascinated by the game. I would find some place in our back yard where I could watch them play and listen to the hollow click of the balls, the quiet thump as they landed on the grass. The dried blood red and hunter's green balls seemed magical. I imagined their heft and knew they were valuable, exotic, and rare. It left quite an impression on me.
Which leads me to wonder why it took me forty more years before I actually played a game. But today I played a rousing game with friends, and, while I doubt it was life changing, it was definitely fun and I look forward to playing again. Thanks go out to my friends who helped a childhood dream come true! Today I bocced....
