Boccie Ball on the Lawn

March 21, 2012

Despite my success in Dancing With the Stripes, I do have an elegant side, as well. I finally had the chance to prove it when Tim asked me if I wanted to join him in the weekly Officer Guest Boccie game. Now, most of what I learned about Boccie Ball was gleaned by watching old Italian men in San Francisco play what appeared to be a continuous game on 19th Avenue. I knew it had something to do with tossing balls and scoring points, but since there weren’t any pins to knock down, I really didn’t get the scoring system.

But with a chance to get outdoors early in the cruise I took advantage of the invitation to head up to our Lawn Club on Deck 15 for a match. This was the latest entry onto my list of Officer Encounters. Tim was very experienced at this activity and informed me that he and I would be paired as a team to compete against two of the guests. The first guests we met seemed just as clueless as me. This gave me hope that I would not embarrass myself too much. Sadly that was not true in the first two games. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to get the ball to stop once I threw it. I tried a gentle roll, I tried a high toss with back spin, I tried hooks and curls and nothing seemed to work. With the object to place my ball as close to the bullet (a golf ball thrown out onto the lawn in front of us) I was essentially useless to our team. There were a lot of things that I was happy to blame this lack of success upon. The lawn wasn’t putting green smooth. The ship was moving and I couldn’t anticipate the ‘break’ in the green. I was being a good host and letting the guests win. None of that was in the least bit true. I’m very, very competitive and really was doing my best. I just stunk. Not to say that Tim was the slightest bit unkind in evaluating my performance. Definitely not in the slightest. Oh, no, he was all over it ribbing me mercilessly for my incompetence much to our guests’ delight. After two disastrous rounds it was clear that we were out of the game and would not be able to rally back in the final round.

And then, with my final toss in the last hopeless round, I finally figured it out. Throwing a perfectly dead ball with no forward spin, back spin, or twist, the highly arching shot dropped like the stone it virtually is and nestled up against the bullet. Tim grudgingly granted that this was a pretty good shot and our competitors congratulated me roundly, especially since it really wouldn’t make a difference. We were eliminated in the first round which was just fine with Tim as it meant he could get to his afternoon nap.

But for me it was even better. I now had an outdoor guest activity that allowed me to be in the fresh air and the sun for 30 minutes during the cruise. With the Caribbean season soon coming to a close this new pastime was a nice addition to my day. And maybe, just maybe, I can develop the skills to be competitive. Because make no mistake about it, I still hate to lose.

And the adventure continues . . .