Red, White, and Brunch

I only WISH I could say that I made this all up...

Normal people spend their July 4th holiday weekends down at the lake maybe, or at a friend’s pool, or even just by cooking out. But me? Noooo. Can’t be normal around here! Gotta be DIFFERENT. I spent my 4th of July at the Garland Senior Center’s Annual Bocce Brunch!
So let me just say how I got into all of this…

Last week at my family’s routine El Chico Night dinner, I asked my G-parents what they were doing to celebrate the big Independence Day and they told me that they were going to the bocce ball tournament and brunch thing at the senior center and I nicely replied, “Oh! That sounds like fun!” You know, any one would say that to kinda half-acknowledge what they’ve said and then half-close that part of the conversation in order to change the subject.

Well, this comment of mine was taken seriously and I found myself getting signed up for the Bocce Brunch. NOT even kidding. So immediately they get all excited and start scheduling times for me to “train” with them so we would beat Sam and Bernice Johnson and win the trophy…
So like, WHAT can I say to all of this? They were clearly excited and I couldn’t just be like, I’m sorry I was completely LYING when I said that brunch sounded interesting, ESPECIALLY when there's a trophy involved... I love trophies... So I stuck with it and all this week had to go to bocce practice, WHICH happened at like 3 o’ clock to leave time for dinner at 4:30... At Luby's.

So all of this training led up to the big day, TODAY when the tournament and brunch actually took place. So like, I’m cool, it’s whatever, right? After all, I’m ALWAYS up for food and I’ll play a little bocce ball in order to get it. But like, we show up, and there are seriously, EIGHT people there; me, my two grandparents, Sam and Bernice, my parents who came to watch, and Ida the desk attendant at the senior center who was serving as referee.

So basically this “tournament” was a sudden death match between my grandparents, the Johnsons, and me. First we had our “brunch”; which Ida had just bought four egg McMuffins on her way to the center and stuck them on a plate and called it “brunch”.

Then we got to the playing field. If you don’t know what bocce is, it’s basically like lawn bowling, using wooden balls. Well I walk out to he “court” which is really the center’s parking lot that Ida had sadly marked off using children’s sidewalk chalk that she attached to her oxygen tank, and then rolled around the parking lot.

Let’s just say, I did NOT even end up playing the game. I had NO idea what I was supposed to do and really was more entertained by just watching Ida wheel around on her Rascal scooter and use her whistle to referee quite possibly the MOST tame sports game in HISTORY.

My grandparents lost, apparently the Johnsons were like, professional bocce players when they were younger. But it’s all good. It makes for a great memory of my 4th of July… I mean, who WOULDN’T rather be at a fake Bocce Brunch than at a nice lake somewhere… Ehh.

PS: This would ONLY happen to me, and don't even TRY to match my story, cuz you can't.