110. Play bocce ball at Union Hall

I don't know about everyone else, but when I think of Bocce ball, I see old men like my grandfather - wearing their guayaveras, drinking beer, keeping it old school.   Actually, I never though of bocce much, the same way I don't daydream about polo, fencing,  fox hunting, or any other of those old fashioned sports that I'll never engage in.

Except now it's here again.  Brooklyn has bocce ball lanes.

One of the best things about Union Hall, besides their great beer selection and casual-yet-festive atmosphere, is the bocce ball.  Nate and I would go on any evening and nurse our beers while watching the games.  There always seemed to be experienced players throwing the little balls, expertly keeping score.  I don't know why it never occurred to me to sign up to play.  I think we figured the wait was to long, that there were usually only two of us, that our total ignorance of rules would be too obvious.

Then a couple of weeks ago, for a friend's birthday, we managed to get a lane!  30th birthdays are the best, everyone wants to have a good time, but most people don't want to be out till 4 am.  Our aging bodies can't handle it anymore.  And apparently, when you get to Union Hall at 7:30, you actually have a shot at getting a lane for a bit.

We just played 3 or 4 games, Nate and me against another couple, while someone else acted as score keeper.  She said she knew how to keep score, and in all honesty, she might have been making it up as it went along for all I care.  All that matters is that she was decisive and effective.  I don't even remember who won, though I know that we won a couple of rounds.  Nate's only request was that we not be team Blue Balls.  I can't understand that.  So we were the yellow team.  Go... yellow balls? 

Fun stuff, I get while the elders like it.  It's like shuffle board with a real dirt lane.