Bocce ball comes to Ramona
By PAT WICK
© Another Day in the Country
Who would have thought that Bocce Ball would be the big hit of the season at our annual family reunion? I always considered Bocce Ball somewhat of a snooty game where rather high-class trendy people came to play something similar to croquet but with wine and hors d'oeuvres.
The object of the game is to toss out the pallino (a little white ball whose name I could never remember: Palermo, pillata, Picasso, pulimo. It drove the kids crazy!) and then see how close you can come to that tiny ball with your own large brightly colored balls. The closest team wins a point — or maybe even four points (quatro frimagio — four cheeses) per frame with a game consisting of 12 points. It's a Napa Valley thing, I know, with the local park sporting Bocce Ball courts instead of horse shoe courts like we often see in Kansas.
The first Bocce Ball set I ever saw was a work of art — lovely wooden, brightly-colored balls. A visiting professor came to the college where I was working and presented an authentic set, fresh from Italy. "The kids will love this," was their comment. However, while I worked at the Student Center, no one ever played the game. Eventually my daughter Jana was introduced to Bocce Ball — she played with a league and I went down to observe, but never learned to play..
Walking through a store the other day, I spied a Bocce Ball set. "That's it," I said triumphantly to my sister. "Richard can teach us all how to play Bocce Ball." I knew this was a sure-fire way to bond Richard (it's only his second family reunion) into the larger group of Schubert relatives.
When Richard arrived, he looked at my plastic Bocce balls with controlled skepticism and said, "What will we do for a court?" "The lawn?" I asked hopefully. Richard shrugged.
"Why not!" said Richard magnanimously, "Let's give it a try!" And the next thing you know, we were on the lawn tractors mowing a pattern that is 12' x74' into the yard beside Cousin's Corner. We literally scalped the lawn in the middle and let the boundary grow tall. For extra measure, we spray painted the grass with all the official lines.
"Let the games begin!" Everyone got into this game in amazing fashion. Uncle Hank (89) turned out to be a pro. Aunt Gertie (84) shared a spot on the team with her granddaughter Kim (26), playing opposite ends of the court so she didn't have to walk. Mom (86) and Em (11) played against Kristina (14) and Tim (42). Adam (29) officiated (tape measure in hand) after Richard and Jana left to fly home. Whoever wasn't playing, cheered! At one point the sidelines were filled with Schubert relatives (six to 96).
It was another day in the country that we'll never forget when Jessica brought out her folding table and spread the cloth beside our newly created Bocce Ball court. We'd found a bottle of Napa Valley wine, secreted in a bottom drawer, for Richard. I brought out apples, French bread, and cheese. This was a scene straight out of the Napa Valley magazine. Bocce Ball had arrived in Ramona!
