The Way Of The Future...The Way of The Future...

I like to dream big. I like to plan. And I like recreational outdoor activities.

Combining all three elements, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a rectangular courtyard in the back yard. For weekend games.

When I was in southern Portugal, we'd play the occasional game of bocce. It wasn't anything organized or adherent to the traditional rules of play, but still fun. The main intent was just be outdoors. The house we rented was at the end of a very long road in the middle of an orange orchard, the medieval castle within walking distance; we were free to take as many oranges as we could eat, and we did indulge. When money was tight, we'd eat pasta, oranges, and a dessert of rice and sugar simmered in milk. Just writing about it almost makes me miss it.

Anyway, the desire to pick up the game again came when I saw The Talented Mr. Ripley years ago. I love the scene where Jude Law is bowling with the townsmen. Actually, I think it's because it features Gwyneth Paltrow speaking Italian.

The other night, I started the research stage. That's almost always where my impulsive obsessions begin - and proof that something may lay just below the surface for seven years before it becomes an impulse. There's a Miller line from his latest routine whereby he states he suffers from both OCD and ADD - he's constantly changing the things he's obsessive about; that's me.

I go through brief but recurring stages where I just get utterly bored with the mundanity of life. I feel that if I don't learn something new or do something new, I might as well stop living right now. More than anything else lately, I crave change.

Before I knew what was happening, I had pencil, paper, and ruler out designing the parameters of my new court. Had it not been dark already, I would have marked off the measurements in the backyard. It gave me something to concentrate on and that was enough. To that end, I kept repeating to myself, "Show me the blueprints. Show me the blueprints. Show me the blueprints." [Action item - go and see The Aviator now.]

Halfway through the project, I realized it was long enough to also hold a horseshoes pit and definitely long enough for a game of washers. That's why I call it a recreational courtyard.

There are still some design flaws for me to work out. A bocce court is supposed to remain smooth. Horseshoes tossed 40 feet through the air tend to dig up dirt and make the smooth not so.

Now, I only have to get permission to build it.

Like I said, I like to dream big.