Membership

It’s Sunday again, but today I couldn’t play shoes. I stayed up late watching the Red Sox win last night and did homework until about 1:00 AM. I got back up at 7:30 to keep doing homework, but I had to leave at noon to go to a wake. I observed the pits from my window when I got home this evening, the sun was going down and they were covered in orange and red leaves. It was like a ghost town outside though. No one was around. Not even on the streets, just some Halloween decorations and a lot of closed up houses trying to keep some heat in. It’s getting pretty cold outside so people are starting to close up their houses for the winter. Although this is one of my favorite times of the year, it is really depressing when you have to close down the windows at night because its too cold to keep them open. I love the foliage though; being from New Hampshire, I am used to the amazing colors every fall.

 

Because of the size of the horseshoe pits as well as the picnic table, the area can become very crowded. Today of course it wasn’t, but I was able to visualize some of those busy days. You know in movies when they have flashbacks and you can see yourself doing something? Well that’s kind of how today was for me. I just over looked the pits and thought about some of the good times that have happened there. The best times are when you can’t even move around the picnic table and there’s not a seat to be found. There is almost never anyone over the age of 26 or 27 at the pits, so we’re all kind of used to being crowded. Besides, we spent most of our college days in bars jammed in as tight as they can get us. While over looking the pits I visualized last Thursday. For some reason, I came home and there were about 25 people hanging out in the pits. I came inside, changed and went out to hop right in with my shoe partner. We both threw an amazing game with 3 ringers and a couple leaners. This was a really good day for us and it was nice to reminisce about it.

 

But today is something different, just sitting inside, looking across the driveway into the neighbor’s back yard. There were no groups of people, no conversations, no laughter… just a cool fall breeze whistling through the trees above. When the pits become active, its amazing how different groups of people both separate and converge together. Normally at the start of the evening, groups of friends separate. It’s an unspoken separation but from a bystander’s point of view, it’s quite amazing. The players normally gather on the grass next to the pits while the ones that come for the social experience sit on the table. It’s not broken up like a traditional crowd of young people, however, broken up more by colleges. It seems each college has its click that comes to hang out, the BC kids, BU, Wentworth, BAC… They all choose their location and claim their ground. It’s an unspoken agreement that you don’t take over another schools location. Whether it is at the table, or beside it, claimed territory is unspoken. Later on into the night this always seems to change. As the games go on, the groups mingle together and form one big society.

 

Anyone is free to bring friends to the pits, but becoming a member of our group takes more than just knowing someone else. We don’t have many rules here but we have no place for cheaters or showoffs. At the pits, it’s all business all the time. We have fun, don’t get me wrong, but we like to have a good honest time. As long as you’re fair and fun, we have no issues with you. Just don’t do anything stupid or you wont be invited back. Although this sounds harsh, it hasn’t had to happen yet. The unspoken rules of the pit are respected by all, which makes for a pleasant gathering every time. Hopefully we have a good group this Friday, I fear that there aren’t many days left this year to play shoes and pretty soon we’ll be doing more indoor activities as the weather gets too cold to spend an evening outdoors.