|
June 2007
Playing...It’s Not Just For Children Anymore
By: Laura Bradford
Creative Writer
I heard laughter and cheering the other night. The kind of sounds you might hear at a child’s soccer match or little league game.
But I wasn’t at one of those outdoor sport complexes off 370, or in one of the various parks in the surrounding municipalities.
I was walking.
Around New Town.
So, being the curious person I am (as a fiction writer I get to tell myself it’s field research), I gravitated in the direction of the sounds. Just to see if there was a ball field I hadn’t noticed or a children’s play I might want to watch.
There wasn’t.
Nor was it a youth sporting event.
It was a group of adults. A big group of adults. With not a single child anywhere.
And get this—they were playing!
Yup, playing.
Sure enough, Bocce courts have sprung up (complete with benches for viewing and grass/landscaping for aesthetics) on a stretch of land between Reed Crossing Street and New Town Lake Drive.
Each Wednesday, more than forty people amass on these Bocce courts for companionship and camaraderie—with some good old fashioned competition sprinkled into the mix. Participants range from fifteen years old all the way into retirement, making this the kind of game that brings various generations together in a common interest.
Linger in the vicinity of these courts on a Wednesday night and you’ll catch snatches of stories, bursts of laughter, sporadic cheering, and—on occasion—good natured ribbing. Most of all you see smiles. Lots of ’em.
I think that’s what struck me most that night… The laughter I heard in the distance and the smiles I saw as I got closer.
But most of all I enjoyed seeing grown-ups playing…
In their own neighborhood.
Under the street lights.
Just like we all did so many years ago.
That’s what New Town does. It brings you back. To a simpler time.
|