This is my sister Mary. She had just finished her second and final round of the Special Olympics State Bocce Ball Tournament in Grand Forks, ND!
Before I go any further, for those of you who have never played bocce ball, below is a short video on how to play. I was going to try and describe it in words because it's a pretty simple game, but by letting someone who knows what they are talking about do it, you'll have a better chance of understanding it...
A good thing about bocce is that you don’t need a court. If you have some colored balls and some type of pallino, you can play it anywhere that you have a little extra space.
Winding up...
...and there it goes!!!
(There weren't too many good photo opportunities that morning. It was chilly and breezy so between the sweatshirt and the scarf not much of Mary's face was available for the camera...)
... except for when she stopped for a moment in the middle of one of her throws to "ham it up" for the camera and the crowd...! (She never misses a photo op!)
She seriously saved the day, though, with her final throw of the final round in a game. However, she did not let it go to her head, ...she promptly walked back to her spot on the field with her team mates to wait for her next turn without batting an eye...
In fact, all of the players on the teams seemed to take their bocce playing very seriously - personally I don't think that I would want to compete against them! However, I found out that her team can play with partners of their choice, so next year I plan on asking Mary if I can be her partner for the tournament. I will have to do some serious practicing to get up to her speed, though!
Between games, she didn't miss a heartbeat after her last throw and the beginning of the next bingo game. She won a nice t-shirt there for"blacking out." (She's holding her prize in her lap in the top and bottom photos).
That's one of the many neat things about Mary. She will try almost anything once! If she hears about something that someone else is doing and it sounds interesting to her, she wants to have the opportunity to do it and she will pursue it...and pursue it...and pursue it...
And when she sets her mind to something, don't try changing it, unless SHE decides to change it herself.
For instance, several years ago, she decided that she was "Indian," or if you were being politically correct, "native American."
We finally had to concede...she was right after all!
Anyway, back to the bocce tournament.
Once Mary and her teammates had finished the tournament with their "git 'er done" attitude, it was time to move on to the next item of business. The next thing on the agenda just happened to be sitting down and waiting for the other teams to finish up so that they could eat their lunch after their hard workout!
Ah, what a fine, splendid day for bocce ball, bingo, fresh air and avid fans!!!
