Bocce

One of the traditions that people of Italian American descent are exposed to is the playing of Bocce. Yesterday I played bocce in Bradley Beach New Jersey, followed by the competitive sport of eating pizza, along the great coastal shore of New Jersey.

Although I usually suck at sports, I can proudly say I was only the second worst player in the group and even got a few lucky moments when I brought honor and points to the "reds". The team name being determined by the color of the ball used.

You'll see bocce, in different forms, being played throughout Europe and in Italian neighborhoods along the East coast of the USA. In America it is traditionally played by old men of Italian origin but it is slowly picking up speed among non Italians in places like Texas. Like pickelball, it is one of those sports where, with perseverance, even someone who sucks at sports can play a decent or at least non embarrassing game.

Editor's note: The white marker ball is the pallino not polenta.

I missed Woodstock

When baby boomers reminisce about their weekend at Woodstock, I have an evil (until now) secret that I have held. Instead of going to Woodstock that weekend I went with my parents to Mo-No-Mo-Nock. Instead of skinny dipping in the rain, I swam in the pool with the bathing suit that Mother picked out for me. Instead of taking acid and listening to the Grateful Dead, I went to the square dance and line danced with the other guests at the hotel.

All the hip kids at school went to Woodstock (if they weren't back packing in Europe) while I was playing golf with my father at Mo-No-Mo-Nock. I was one of the guys at the pool saying, "Woodstock! I would draft the whole lot of them!" While most baby boomers remember Woodstock, I will always remember the weekend at the Pocono's with mother and father Hubbard.

Youtube q and a videos

One of the features of subscribing to You tube channels is that, if you wait long enough, you will come upon a q and a session. These are usually originally done live but are available later in taped form. In general, they are a lazy way for a You tuber to get an easy program in without having to do any location shots, editing, or scripting. They simply answer questions that people send them.

Depending on how you view You tube, you may or may not know the questions they are answering. Typically, the host or hosts look at the screen and answer questions. Typical answers are "No I've never been to Russia". "Yes I plan to going to an In and Out place when I come to the states". "No I hate dogs." "I'm not talking about my former boyfriend!"

Q and A also gives the host/hosts a chance to promote their merchandise and Patreon. Apparently Patreon is a big money maker for You tubers.

Last week I saw an interesting Q and A. The host ate Chinese chicken with chopsticks and answered questions. Politicians could learn a lot from her. Boris Johnson could have a bowl of Thai chicken and eat it with chopsticks while answering questions from Parliament. Might come in handy when we get closer to Brexit.